


Valley of the end......TIME GATE

by arkana33y



Series: Anything is possible in my story [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Causal loop, Closed timelike curve, Dimensional overlap, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Genjutsu, Konoha Village, M/M, Parallel world, Romance, Time Loop, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 23:36:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 71
Words: 189,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4806491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arkana33y/pseuds/arkana33y
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is my first work on the topic of boy love boy .... but for the story is okay.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. DISSATISFACTION

****

**Fourth Ninja World War was over. The war that brought change as none prior the war.**

**50, 000 lives were lost. The area where there was a war and spread dramatically changed the relief using the Tailed Beast Ball. Nine tails using a "cataclysm" caused the natural disasters affecting the sky and natural disasters affecting the earth large scale. World Shinobi drastically changed.**

**It took a long, long time to gather and bury the dead and It took a long time to the village return to normal life. Population reduce by half. Naruto has become a legend but a legend at what price. The biggest improbability of it was that the opponent did not lose a single life.**

** Life refers to a human being of flesh and blood. **

**Everything was fine until a time when Naruto began slowly to change. His liveliness, his gleaming smile began to slowly disappear. It took a lot of energy to cover up his condition. The consequences of the war have begun to slowly take its toll.**

**The life that he led before changed drastically. He was not more alone. Those who were not able to fight with him came to the village to see him and meet with him. The villagers have changed and he quickly became popular. He received gifts from all sides, and most of the female population. At around it seemed that everything was fine but ...... his closest friends were with him in the spare time that they did not have too much. Missions were frequent and it took much work on the reconstruction of the village.**

**One thing has not changed.**

**Night, long nights were the biggest problem. Nightmares that had been heavy to handle, abnormal sweating, shortness of breath, constant chest pain became unbearable. Night after night, he was sleeping less and soon he did not sleep any more. " Kurama " -nine tails, was trying to talk to him but without success. The only person who could help him was Kakashi sensei but he was busy.**

**Tsunade hime needed a break and rest to recover lost chakra, which is used in large quantities. Kakashi sensei was busy due to assuming the post of Hokage.**

**Naruto was one of the s trongest shinobi but also had only seventeen. Images of war could not disappear over night. The fact that is lost 50,000 lives did not give him peace. Although he saved the world from destruction he was not satisfied.**

**Techniques seals were used for the purposes of destruction. Time and space barriers were easily broken. Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation was an even bigger problem. No matter how strong seal is always a way to break. Naruto could not be quiet about whole thing. All this led to a change in him.**

**No one could notice the change because he always had a radiant smile and and he was always ready to joke. He did not want friends pulled into his problems. However good observer from the side could notice a dark shadow that was in the depths of his eyes. Kurama could not act on his brain and he became increasingly concerned.**

**Although he was in crisis he went on missions most of which were related to the prevention of the outbreak of the rebellion in other villages. His temperament who was explosive before, now became eruptive.** **During a long-term mission of the month he was totally lost.**

**The path led them into the area Land of Hot Water. This is a neighboring country of the Land of Frost and the Land of Sound, which was located north-east of the Land of Fire. It is the location of the heavy fighting in the war.**

**They were in pursuit of a group of ninja from villages Otogakure, who have a wide circle of the area wantonly commit crimes. Village Hidden by Sound was the personal hidden village of Orochimaru, which was founded for the express purpose of collecting ninja for his experiments and his quest to learn all techniques - giant laboratory.**

**With him were Kiba, Hinata, Shikamaru and **Darui. Darui is a ninja of Kumogakure. Darui joined the search, since most of those killed villagers were originally from his village.****

**The mission was not easy, because it was a group that is Orochimaru genetically transformed into human beasts. Naruto and his group are slowly losing patience because they had no way to overcome the killers.**

**"Orochimaru did a good job. It seems to me that they are smarter than we are, because our every action anticipated.".......Darui said.**

**" I do not understand their behavior. They did not attack us not once. ".....Kiba was confused.**

**" Damn Orochimaru and after the war, you make trouble. ".....Naruto was angry.**

**"Likely know you by that your chakras and they do not want to enter with us into conflict."....Hinata calmly analyze the situation." The problem is that they know to cover up chakra and its scent. Byakugan here is of little use."**

**" Kakashi would be welcome here."......Kiba said.**

**" Kakashi senesei enough made so far. It is time that we take the situation into our own hands. Anyway, he is busy with preparations to become the sixth Hokage.".......Naruto is with pride in his voice and smile say:"I am happy that he was my teacher. His words I will not forget for a lifetime " In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."."....blue eyes sparkled but did not continue further sentence:" I'm not trash! I'm not planning on becoming trash either. I'll never let my comrades die."......dark shadows in the eye for a moment becomes even more darker.**

**" Do you like him?"....Darui had a conversation with him.**

**" Yes I like him. When I look back he was always by my side and gave support. Without his guidance I would not be here now.".......in a low voice said:" Likely I would be lost on the road of life without him."**

**Hinata was surprised. She caught in his voice that it was something more than just adoration. Naruto was not aware that it is in fact in love with Kakashi.**

**She turned white but quickly came to himself: "I can not beat Kakashi sensei!"**

**" Darui can I ask you a question?"........his face has changed:" What is your opinion about the war?"**

**"My opinion about the war?".......it's a little stunned by this question but replied." I am happy that we survived. I lost a lot of friends but their lives were not in vain. This war gave us a lesson in many ways. Why do you ask?"**

**" I do not know .... but I can not reconcile with the fact of 50 000 lives lost. On the other hand there were no casualties. "......his voice sounded strange:" I'm not the savior!"**

**" Naruto, you are a lifesaver. Your desire for friendship and solidarity changed the opinion of many of us. You did unite us, and that no one has managed before. You took all the hatred, pain and suffering upon themselves. I am happy to be your friend. War is war, and each is the same.".......he had tried to appease.**

**Kiba and Hinata listened to the conversation:" Naruto, you know we're with you all. You are not alone. Talk to us! You are the person who has changed all of us. Our lives are yours."....Kiba said, watching his reaction.**

**These words provoke violent reaction in him: "For God's sake, I have seventeen years. Do not say lightly that you are willing to give your life for me. All you have life ahead of you. Lives are precious. I am a strong ninja but I am a man of flesh and blood. I'm not as strong as everyone thinks. Neji and many others have given their lives for me. I'm not happy about it. It just means that I was not strong enough to protect himself. I'm not a savior."**

**Darui, Hinata and Kiba had already understood what was the matter. He blamed himself for so many lives lost. Naruto had post-traumatic stress disorder. They knew that he needed help and that they have to suspend the mission.**

**At that time they were near Uzushiogakure. All felt the chakra that they had known**

**"Not Possible!"......Naruto had turned pale and totally lose yourself.**

**Without thinking went into the Tailed Beast Mode and start looking. They shouted for him to stop but he was gone.**

**"I have a very bad feeling about this!"........everyone thought the same and followed him.**


	2. DISAPPEARANCE

**"Kabuto Yakushi do not mess with me!"......those were the last words they heard.**

**Naruto used the attack with Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken that the environment has turned into a wasteland. The remains of the Uzushiogakure disappeared from the face of the earth. At the last minute managed to protect itself from the impact, and for a while they could not see anything. When the dust settled they sought Naruto but he was nowhere to be.**

**They were looking for him everywhere. They searched for miles around but could not feel anywhere Naruto. They searched a wide river on both sides, but without success.**

**"We'll stay here until help arrives." .....Darui send a message to Konoha and Kumogakure: "Naruto disappeared without a trace!"**

**In the office Hokage sat Kakashi and Tsunade discussing what to do everything before Tsunade withdraws from places Hokage. Shikamaru went in without knocking at them and handed pale face message.**

**"Naruto disappeared in a mission at Uzushiogakure!".......the message was very simple.**

**Tsunade and Kakashi stood speechless unable to move from the spot; "It is not possible. No one can disappear without a trace.".....Tsunade slammed her fist from the table:" Kakashi, Shikamaru go immediately. "...... turned to Shizune:" Send a message to Sasuke! Do not come back without him!"**

**Kakashi finds himself in a moment in his apartment. His head was all messy.**

**Current chest pain left him breathless:" Damn Naruto! Not now."....caught his breath and tried to calm down:" What will we do without you? I can not imagine life without you. Please Kami let him be safe."......he take the equipment and went to meet with Shikamaru.**

**Shikamaru was also in the confusion:" Naruto you can not go away now. Not now. Everything you want is here. Please be sure until I get there!"**

**The two men are in a hurry leave Konoha. The guards at the gate were confused. Iruka and Konohamaru had just been at the gate when they saw the two of them.**

**"Shikamaru!".....yelled Iruka but they were already far away:" Something is wrong. Something big going on."........suddenly felt a chill:" Naruto!"......with haste he went to the Hokage tower.**

**Konohomaru heard a shriek in the air: "No way! This is the third Falcon in the air. Something's going on.".......and he hurried for Iruka senpai .**

**Konoha was in a short period of time on the feet. Everyone sensed that something was wrong. Something was going on behind closed doors. Konoha after the war acquired something no one even dreamed of. The secret thread linking the Konoha.**

**In the office Hokage was created a crowd. Sakura, Iruka and Konohamoru arrived at the same time. Tsunade still Hokage had a deadly serious face. No one dared ask anything.**

**"Iruka ..."....she paused for a moment:"Naruto disappeared during the mission. Do not ask questions, because I do not know the facts. I hope it will be all right! ".......tried to smile but on her face appear painful spasm:" Unpredictable shinobi number 1."**

**The news they received left them breathless. Everyone was in their minds.**

**Iruka could not withstand the pressure and tears flowed down his cheeks, "Naruto not now. For you, this is supposed to be a new beginning. You have achieved everything you wanted. You're my little brother, my family. Do not leave us now. Please kami just let him be alive."**

**Sakura was in a trance:" Naruto will return. There's no way that anything happened. For God's sake, he is Naruto. Kurama is with him. There's no way he let anything happen to him. Sasuke when he finds out .... I can not imagine what he would do ... Naruto please be safe."**

**"I do not know if it's the right time but I would like to ask you something. Have any of you noticed a change in him?" .....Konohamaru will suddenly.**

**"Change? What are you talking about?"......Tsunade asked.**

**" Did not anyone noticed that he often spends time at the memorial monument. Night wandering by Konoha. When I was with him I got him to write on the small pieces of paper. When I asked him about what writes just said I record my thoughts. In this way, the time passes quickly. He did not open a single gift that he is received.".......Konohamaru will quietly:" I thought you knew!"......he said when he saw their pale faces.**

**Kakashi and Shikamaru arrived in record time. Hinata, Kiba and Darui were surprised by their arrival. They did not expect even one whole day. Since he disappeared Naruto passed four days. They did not waste any time. Kakashi summon a pack of Ninja hounds of various breeds.**

**"Find Naruto!" .... just said.**

**Hinata is told everything that happened. Darui invite aside Kakashi.**

**" Kakashi what you think about Naruto?" .....he watched him as he asked the question.**

**"Why ask me?".....he was a bit confused by this question.**

**"Because it's important!"......he was persistent.**

**"He is a powerful ninja. He has a heart that never gives up, always kept given words, everything would give for his friends, for me is very important and nice person, without him I would be lost in the way of life. For him, I would give everything and I think it will always be under my eye. If he makes a mistake I will be there to correct him, in fact I will be there, always at his side.. "........his eyes took on a fiery glow and took a deep breath:" I want to be there for him when he needs me!"**

**" Wow.... Kakashi it's a real love offer!".....but Kakashi he is only seventeen. He is a powerful ninja but on the other hand inexperienced. His mind is fragile, war is in him left a deep mark. He is a ninja who saves life, not kills. For him, death is not death, he seeks an explanation for the deaths. 50,000 dead for him is not a number, but people of flesh and blood. The people of his age who have had their dreams. He himself said that he did not feel as a savior. I think you know what I mean. We are all wrong, because we did not see what his problem. Naruto said the same words as you. Do not you think that there is something more between you Kakashi."**

**Hinata, Kiba and Shikamaru were silent.**

**"For God's sake, why Naruto did not say anything."....**

**"He did not know how to say. Things were moving too fast. Thirteen years he lived in isolation from all. The first person who helped him was Iruka senpai. Sakura did not recognize him as a normal person. Sasuke was the first his friend but also rival. Then he met you. In the beginning, you were not with him but with Sasuke. What followed was a test for genin. There we all understand who is Naruto. The loss of Sasuke. Two and a half years was absent. After returning you and Yamato senpai were more with him than anyone else. Gara dead. Again Sasuke. The death of Jiraiya. Collapse of Konoha and your death. War. The person who was always with him, you are Kakashi sensei. It is not surprising that he tied for you. After the war, we were all busy. We are all wrong. Naruto was still alone.".......Hinata is honestly speaking.**

**"He was afraid to say anything for fear of being accused of something that was not his fault. Probably did not want to be hated by you."......Shikamaru said:" Too many problems!"**

**From a distance, there came a howl.**

**"Something is found!"......the conversation had to leave for later." Most important thing was to find Naruto."**

**When they reached the place they found the body. They searched them. They concluded that the bodies belong shinobi that are persecuted. That was not all. The body was covered with mud belonged to Kabuto Yakushi. No one was sure what was going on. The body was in front of them was different and something did not suit.**

**" Where is Naruto?" .....they wondered.**

**The mission was carried out but Naruto was nowhere. They felt a chakra that has been very strong and they all put on the defensive.**

**"What's happening? Where is Naruto?".......before them stood Sasuke.**


	3. MAKES NO SENSE

**Sometimes you just have to stop worryng, wondering and doubting, have faith that things will work out may be not how you planned but just how they are meant to be**.

 

**"Sasuke I'm glad you're here!" .....Kakashi said.**

**"What's going on?" .... his voice was husky. "Where is he, Kakashi?"**

**He explain everything from the beginning:" I do not know where he is. There is not the slightest trace of him. He disappeared as if it never existed. ".....Kakashi was under stress.**

**" We found the body of Kabuto Yakushi but something does not fit. This is not him. I think it is but this is not Kabuto as we know it.".....Hinata was confused.**

**Sasuke wasted no time. He returned to the location of the village Uzushiogakure. He searched the site step by step. Pakkun one of the dogs followed him sniffing around. Suddenly, he stopped and began to dig. Sasuke helped him and soon was holding Naruto's Kunai.**

**"Not possible!"......he paled in an instant:" He's not dead. He is alive. Kurama is with him.".....waving his head to ward off negative thoughts. "Space-time ninjutsu!" .....falls on his mind:" I think we will not find anything."......spoke for itself: " Let us return to Konoha. I need to think."**

**"Sasuke ....".....Kakashi had expected response.**

**" He is alive but not in this dimension and this time.".....gets a response:" The bodies will take with us to examine."**

**Time was for the return without Naruto. Konoha was quiet. The news that Naruto disappeared spread like a blazing fire. All, absolutely all are with anticipation expecting news that Naruto found. The team was returning back. They did not talked on the way back. Tsunade and Iruka were waiting at the gate.**

**"Kakashi, Sasuke .... Is he alive? What happened? Did you find him?"......Iruka asked question after question.**

**"Iruka senpai calm down. I assume he's alive. We found only his kunai and these bodies. I can not talk like this. My head is a mess. ".....Sasuke stopped him and turned to Tsunade:" Hokage, I want this body to be examined as soon as possible."**

**" Kabuto Yakushi!".........Tsunade was looking confused:" Do not tell me...".....sought help from him.**

**" Orochimaru is not to blame for this. Something else is at stake."......Kakashi will quietly.**

**Tsunade watched him. She had never seen him so tired and lost. All were silent, tired and with serious face. She summon Anbu to take the bodies and took them to examination.** **"We'll talk in my office."........turned to the Kakashi and said, "Go, get some rest. I need your help."**

**He obeyed, because his mind has stopped working. Soon he was in the apartment. He stood in one place in confusion. Naruto disappeared. Empty gaze wandering around the apartment until he saw the picture next to the bed. Slowly walked to the bed and sat  taking a picture of Naruto. With his thumb passes over the image while retaining the view of the mischievous blue eyes.**

**"Ma ma Naruto where are you now? Please come back. Be safe. All we can solve. Ninja world is an evil place. Anything is possible. I was lucky to survive this long.....but when you start to feel something more for me. "........remember the first mission Zabuza Momochi and Haku." Perhaps this is the beginning. We were both caught up in their story. We could not understand that their story carried over to us. The question is how will finish our story."......tears escape without control:" Damn Naruto this is the second time that I cry. These feelings are real feelings. Back to me and together we will fight."........he lifted off the bed, put a picture in its place and went to take a shower:" Never give up! Is not all lost.".......he thought.**

**Under the shower began to think: "When I fell in love with you?.......probably when you saved my life. The feeling that I had when I met my father. The feeling that I had not done what I needed. Jingle bells on a red thread in my hand made me think of the blue sky of Konoha and blue eyes that stared at me from the sky. My first thought upon my return from death was you. I should have seen your eyes to feel that I am alive."**

**When he came to himself he was ready for a new task: "Restore Naruto where he belongs. To me."**

**Office Hokage was full.**

**"While we wait for news from the autopsy I want to visit Naruto's apartment." ....all were surprised with this requirement.**

**"Why?"......Sasuke asked.**

**" There's a reason. Konohamaru told us something that will not let me peace. Please come with me!"..........everyone knew that there was something else they do not know.**

**Naruto's apartment was small and they barely fit in it. It surprised them was that the apartment was neat and tidy. Gifts were stacked on each other and none of them were open. On the bed lay his cap, which he wore to sleep. The doll that looked like Kakashi was standing at the window. Flowers stood in the closet and around. Above the bed on the shelf was the picture of team 7. There was a picture of his parents likely he got it from Konohamaru. Tsunade from under the bed pulled out a box full of paper.**

**Sakura, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Hinata and Iruka were surprised. On each paper was written something and were not arranged in order.**

**Tsunade pulled out a piece of paper that said, "Another night. Neji came to me in a dream. Something tells me but I did not hear that. I wake up in a sweat. I'm all alone."**

**The second paper, "Today I met my mom for the first time. She was beautiful. I miss her very much. You know mom I have something to say. I'm fine, do not worry. Next to her is the fourth Hokage, my father Minato. He has kind eyes and with me softly spoken. "**

**"I wonder what Kakashi hides behind the mask. Damn Kakashi show at least one your face."**

**"My dream is to be Hokage but no longer. Sasuke would be a good Hokage or someone from his clan. I cheer for him. He will never become another Madara. I believe in him."**

**"Kakashi again reading a book. Damn Jiraiya. I am happy Kakashi alive. Hinata is alive. No victims. Today is a good day. I wish it was Nagato remained alive. Not guilty."**

**"Another sleepless night. Konoha is safe. I'm sorry. Too many victims. I did not savior. "**

**Tsunade was shocked: "All this time he blaming yourself for the death of 50,000 people."**

**They sat on the floor and started to sort the papers. Kakashi has amassed most of them.**

**"The key is Madara Uchiha!"**

**"Damn Orochimaru you are getting younger and younger."**

**"Causal loop......something that I must not forget that at any price.**

**"Konoha is not what you see!"**

**"Kakashi sensei is late again!"**

**" Where is everybody?"**

**"I can not lose the memory!"**

**"Where am I?"**

**The princess is beautiful.**

**"The war is not over!"**

**"I'm tired. I gotta do something but what?"**

**Fox Spirit is my protector.**

**"Kakashi sensei must never know!"**

**None of them did not understand anything. They could not even connect things. Everything was messed up.**

**"The past can be changed to some extent. My great-grandfather set up a barriers."**

**This sentence no one gave peace.**

**"For God's sake, how can know who his great grandfather. I do not know. What happened to this child?".....Tsunade was pale as paper.**

**The following paper was an even bigger surprise.**

**"This is my last memory. Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Everything is possible!"**


	4. THEORY

**Shikamaru were suspicious of the box and took one. He open it and remain shocked, because it was full of pieces of paper. He began them to open respectively and each was filled with pieces of paper.  In a small apartment formed a deadly silence. They were sitting on the floor holding pieces of paper as if they were gold. All Naruto feelings were there before them.**

**Shikamaru first reacted and began to demolish all the boxes in the order: "Damn Naruto why?"**

**Sasuke was white as a sheet as tears dripped down his face: "He brought me back from the darkness. It's time to get back its debt. Naruto, I swear no matter wherever you are I will find you and I will kill you."**

**"Sasuke, he's my problem. This task will be mine."......Kakashi said.**

**"Listen to me! You're forgetting the most important thing. These are his feelings for each of us. Whether any of us told him our feelings. Do any of us sat with him and talked about normal things? No one other than Jiraiya. Shikamaru you were with him the most when he lost him and no one more. We all know that he was shy. He could not talk about certain things with us. We all fell to the simple task. All he had and has given all of us in unlimited quantities. "......." "What have we done? We are asked more and more. Iruka you're probably the only one who could tell you some things, but not all, because you had your problems. It's not his fault. When he gets back we'll sit down together and discuss this with him.".......that her disrupts the voice of Anbu:"** **It's time for the first results of the autopsy. This place will be sealed until further notice." .....she sighed deeply:"It's time to go back and try to figure out how to get him back wherever he is."**

**No one returned the papers back but kept them for himself. Tsunade did not say anything about it, because she took a couple of pieces.**

**Preliminary data indicated that the bodies were not from their time as well as Kabuto Yakushi.**

**"Sasuke you were right."..... Kakashi said.**

**"This is not only the Space-Time Ninjutsu. Portal must be somewhere open."......Sasuke is absorbed in thoughts." I wonder can you discover from which time coming."**

**" I do not understand at all what you mean!"........Iruka them watched dumbfounded.**

**" They are not from another dimension. Spacious barrier is not open. This Kabuto is much younger. It seems that is the only open time barrier. The question is how many Naruto returned to the past. And how the hell do I find a time portal?"........Sasuke was confused with discovery.**

**" Hold on to the ball. If this Kabuto from the past and now he's dead. It means does not exist more in the past. Kabuto today in our time also does not exist. But what about the body. The body is here. Where is our Kabuto?".......Kakashi asks a question:" Two people of the same can not be in the same time. It'll be a time paradox."**  
**Everyone else just looked confused with conversation that the two of them led.**

**"Damn Kakashi! Let's try to find out where is our Kabuto?"......Sasuke said." What will happen if our Kabuto finishes in the past' I can not imagine the consequences. Hokage can you possibly find out where is Kabuto now? "**

**Tsunade speechless called Anbu: "This directly handed over to the hands of the five Kage.".....write five scrolls and handed them to the hands.**

**"I will visit Orochimaru!".....Sasuke said.**

**"Just a minute, if I understand correctly. If Naruto finished in the past, where is Naruto from the past. He should be here.".......Shikamaru said suddenly:" He's not here. It means that does not exist in the past. He had not been born."**

**Kakashi and Sasuke looked at each other quickly:" Under the urgent we need to find Kabuto!".....at the same time say.**

**" I think we all have omitted one fact. Seven days had already passed since Naruto disappeared. Let's say you're right and that Naruto finished in the past. He had plenty of time to intervene in the events of the past. He has already started a time paradox. It means that we should already to feel effects of the time paradox. As nothing is happening is not only time barrier in question.".......Hinata said.**

**" For God's sake, Hinata you're right!".......Kakashi says and all remain speechless: "What now? Our whole theory falls apart!"**

**" It is not true. If two people of the same can not be simultaneously in the same time, do not you think Kurama must have performed a trick. I can think of one idea. Naruto is a prankster. Our Naruto and Kurama must have come up with something that will screw time paradox. Kurama changed Naruto in woman."........Sakura looked at them one by one**

**" If they screwed up the time paradox we're all in trouble. What will happen if the past change? How to restore Naruto back?".......Shikamaru took hold of the head:" Unpredictable Ninja number one! He is too problematic for Hokage!"......laughed out loud:" For God's sake, Kakashi sense I would not be in your shoes!"**

**" Kakashi you'll need to keep him in chains!"......Tsunade said with a slightly mischievous smile.**

**"Ma ma I'll think of something!".......he slightly flushed but he was not embarrassed.**

**Sasuke, Sakura and Iruka were watching and did not understand their jokes. In general they did not understand what is the relationship between the chain and the shoes with Naruto and Kakashi.**

**"Do not tell me Kakashi and Naruto ...."........Sakura with big question marks in their eyes looked at Kakashi.**

**" Sakura does not worry with this, it is just a theory. First return him and then we can say for sure what's the matter."........Kakashi become serious:" Sasuke go to Orochimaru and ask him if he knew anything about Kabuto. When we find out, we will know what to do. Sakura you are right in one hand Kurama's old fox and will probably find ways to preserve the continuity of time. One day will not mean anything. I have a feeling that we are completely on the wrong path. We're missing something."**

**"It should be taken into account and what it says on the papers!" ..... Shikamaru sighed heavily: "Too much trouble in a short time!"**

**" Five hours you are free."......Tsunade tells them with a tired voice.**


	5. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 1

**FIRST DOOR**

**Kakashi was tired but his mind worked.**

**"What's wrong? .... he heard known a voice beside him.**

**"I do not know but something we do not see. Something ..... but what?"......Kakashi was not surprised that he hears the voice of Naruto, because all his thoughts leading up to him.**

**"A ninja must read what is underneath the underneath!".....gets a response.**

**"My dream is to be Hokage but no longer." ...... he asked him curiously.**

**"Good guess. Maybe I'm not that Naruto any more." .......he this response did not expect from him even in a dream.**

**"Just a moment!..... Naruto is not Naruto. How?" .... he was confused.**

**"Ma ma Kakashi ..."Where did you find me after my fight with Sasuke?".....he was surprised at his question to.**

**"I do not understand this at all!"......he clutched his head:"Konoha is not what you see. Why did you write that?"**

**""Perhaps there's a reason. Check the facts twice. Nothing is as it seems.".....another confusing answer.**

**"Tell me one thing if the war ever happened to you? "......question was a catch 22.**

**"Maybe it happened, maybe not. It's a little complicated. I can not give a simple answer.".....he got another confusing answer.**

**"Kakashi Sensei what do you miss most?" .... a new question.**

**"Naruto!" .......he answer quickly.**

**"Why?" ..... another question.**

**"There are a million reasons why." ......**

**"Can I know?" ..... voice was low.**

**"You gave me back my life!" .....  "Why do you ask?"**

**"There are a million reasons why." .... receive a response.**

**"Can I know?" .........**

**"You gave me life and future.!" ..... gets a response: "May I ask what's your opinion of me ......**

**"Well, you've grown up in an interesting person," ....he smiled.**

**" Your opinion of me?".....a tear escapes.**

**" Hm, cool, hip, trendy, most capable ninja, highly renowned and genius.".....silence occurs at the moment:" Your dark gray eyes were interesting now you know."**

**Kakashi suddenly jerked to the word." Now?"......his eyes were open but the mind has been closed.**

**He feel the warm breath on his face:" Kakashi come back to me!".....heard a faint whisper in the ear." Now open your mind!"**

**Blue eyes of the heavenly glow stared into his eyes. Before him was Naruto but his body was shimmering.**

**"Naruto for God's sake, where have you been?".......he stops breathing.**

**"Ma ma I'm where I need to be .... you are not."....Kakashi was confused:" Um, can I see your face?".......in blue eyes was a naughty smile.**

**Kakashi knew that something was wrong but could not miss the chance to be more with him:" Why do not you take your own?".....he approached him with a provocative stare.**

**Naruto blushed and slowly raised his hand to his face:" Damn Kakashi!"....at the same time caught breath, and shut their eyes.**

**The mask was removed but not one of them opened his eyes.**

**Naruto opened the first eye and grabbed the air:" My dream came true.!"......his voice was hoarse and excited:" You're beautiful and I love you!".....drop a light kiss on his lips and says:" Do not forget, everything in front of you!".....he made a short pause:" "Kakashi sensei, please do not forget this. Maybe next time I see you ....." ... the voice is there to lose.**

**Kakashi opened his eyes but he was not in front of him.**

**His body was trembling from a sense that not even know existed:" Next time you will not get away. How can I forget? "**

**He went into the shower and let the cold water to came to himself. As long as he cold not encased in bone has not moved. He wiped up and thrown on the bed. Fall asleep.**

 

**SECOND DOOR**

**"Sakura chan what are you doing?" ... she heard a voice.**

**"Naruto!" .... she whispered softly.**

**"I ask you what are you doing?" .... he repeated.**

**"I try to sleep but I can not. You do not let me sleep!" .....she knew that something was wrong.**

**"Why do not you sleep?" .....he insisted.**

**"You bore me! How could you ask me when you're gone?" ......she smiled.**

**"Am I missing?" .....he was surprised.**

**"Of course you're missing!" ...."Surely there is something wrong!".... she thought.**

**"You are quite sure of that?" ......there was no answer.**

**"Damn Naruto let me sleep!" .....she was angry.**

**"I can not! I'm bored." ...the conversation continues.**

**"If you're bored you have Kakashi sensei!" .....on the face she had a smile.**

**"Ma ma Sakura. He made me dream!" .....said the voice quietly.**

**"You've become Hokage where you are." ....conversation was in the mind.**

**"Nop! I'm where I need to be, and where are you?" .... pause. "I saw the whole face of Kakashi sensei. He is a lovely! I like it."**

**"It's your dream!" .....she asked.**

**"He is worthy of Hokage!" .....receives positive response.**

**"Well, Naruto .... your feelings on pieces of paper are sincere." ....she turns red in the face.**

**"Of course I never lie you know!" .....voice has now become gentle.**

**"Thank you Naruto! and why not talk to us?".......the eyes had tears.**

**"You're not by my side!"......blue eyes appear in front of her and he gently kissed her on the cheek:" Do not forget! Everything is in front of you."**

**"Stop! Hold on! Who are you? ".......she wanted to know.**

**"Sakura I got your's jacket. Damn it all mixed up." ..... there is something wrong what she did not give peace.**

**"My jacket ..... curse Naruto, makes no sense ...."......she was confused.**

**"Do not forget!"......voice was fading.**

 

**THE THIRD DOORS**

**" Ba chan you are more tired than ever before.".....Tsunade heard a familiar voice.**

**"Naruto, where are you?" ....her voice slightly trembling.**

**"Close to you." ....she heard a whisper.**

**"Do not mess with me. You're gone!" ....she was angry.**

**"Are you sure I'm gone, you know?" ....he asked again.**

**She is a troubled:" You disappeared a week ago at Uzushiogakure."**

**"Uzushiogakure! .... My mother is from that place. Ba Chan I am related by blood with the Uzumaki clan. Do not forget! ".....his voice was serious."**

**"I know that!".....paused for a moment." How do you know great grandfather?"......she remembered to ask.**

**"My mother told me!"......he said:"And I talked to him. He's a great guy and smart. Maybe smarter than all of us! I have to correct Kurama's old fox is the smartest and wisest. ".**

**"When you're able to talk to him?"......she asked, confused.**

**"I was lost and he found me!"......that answer did not anticipated:" Ba chan I do not have much time. You're all geniuses."**

**"Konoha is not what you see. Why did you write that?" ...... she remembered to ask.**

**"Ba Chan ninja should be seen hidden beneath covered. You know! "... gets a response.**

**"Naruto you still alive?" ..... her voice trembling.**

**"Do not worry I'm alive. I was just some time was lost on the way through life. You have to hurry or you will be lost in time forever." .... get a warning.**

**"Naruto Kakashi is the right choice for you. He's a genius, and you just complicate things. You are a real challenge for him. I have nothing against you both." .... said quickly.**

**"I hope you're right. Things can also be changed. Everything will be forgotten. Ba chan do not forget the papers. It may come in handy. "...... get a warning.**

**"We found the body of Kabuto but not from our time. Sasuke says he came from the past. He said it had to be somewhere open a time portal.".....quickly ask a question but has not received a response.**

**"Double check things! Nothing is as it seems. I hope we will find the right place and might be back to square one. Nothing is for sure. I can not stay here. My time is running out. By, ba chan. I miss you and love you and "...... those were the last words.**


	6. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 2

**FOURTH DOORS**

****

**Schikamaru sat on the floor in his room and and he tried to fit the pieces of paper as shogi tiles.**

**"Naruto Damn! Why write something on small papers?" ......he wondered.**

**"I'm not as smart as you!".....he heard the voice and felt a touch on the shoulder.**

**"Naruto, where are you?"......he asked quickly.**

**"Close to you!"......answers.**

**"Naruto I'm sorry I was not more with you. Your feelings hit me very hard.".....low voice says.**

**"Do not worry, there will be plenty of time to catch up."......gets a response.**

**"Hey, Naruto you're smart.".......he laughed.**

**"Am I? Many would not agree with you."......just said the fact.**

**"These pieces of paper hold the key right?"........he asked the questions, although he did not expect an answer.**

**"These are my feelings and clicks from my memory collected over time. Probably hiding key.".....and to his surprise gets a response.**

**"Naruto you're still alive?".......ask a question.**

**"Yes, but you're running out of time!"......he did not like the second part of the answer but kept it to himself.**

**"Kabuto......"........newly question.**

**"My mind is wrong. Misperception!".......just when he thought he had found the solution he get the opposite response.**

**"My dream is to be Hokage but no longer.".....he asks a question and said, "I do not know that Naruto!"**

**"You're probably right!" .... his answer was more than he expected.**

**"Who are you?".........he senses that something is wrong.**

**"You're smart. You'll find the answer. ".......receive a response with dose of teasing.**

**"Konoha is not what you see. Why did you write that?" ...... he remembered to ask.**

**"The truth is hidden from you. I can not reveal the facts but I can lead.".....new facts.**

**"What's wrong with Konoha?" .....asked him.**

**"You figure it out what is wrong. It is not difficult." ...... other facts.**

**"I can not lose the memory!".......**

**"Nothing is as it should be. Too many spotting by barriers. Many of the seal is broken. Some things can be corrected to a certain extent. "..... finally got the answer of which can begin.**

**"Why Kakashi?"........he smiled mischievously.**

**"I do not know. Nothing is resolved. One of the options."........the answer was mixed:"I'm sorry, my time is about to end."**

**NEXT DOOR**

** **

**Sasuke only had no time to rest. Have long he had no contact with Orochimaru. After the war, he left the village with a new task. Something was hidden behind the door of the war. Deep down, he knew that his fate is linked to Naruto and that one without the other can not exist. All the troubles he had suffered because an inner voice told him that Naruto was there with him.**

**He believed in him, that he would be back among them.**

**"I will never go back on my word. That's my ninja way." ....... those words is buried deep inside.**

**He was not aware at first that Naruto small ray of light to help him to withstand the chosen route. Naruto was the first friend of his. Maybe he did not understand at first, because they were children. Children who are backed by a different route.**

**One who did not know the parents. Left and abandoned by all. He had nothing but itself. The desire to be recognized as a human being was stronger than hate.**

**The other had all but lost it and was alone. Itachi had good intentions but did the opposite effect. The hatred was stronger than anything else.**

**Opposites which they are attached thin thread. Jingle bells they rang in both equally. Jingle not without reason chosen. Teamwork, connection that links differences. Friendship, which is the basic principle of existence. The man can not survive alone. There is a strong connection made between them. Although they chose opposite paths connection was not aborted.**

**Why not aborted It was learned later, when the Sage of the Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki explained his family history and revealed to Sasuke his status as the reincarnation of his eldest son Indra.**

**Naruto is the same way found out that the in fact the reincarnation of the Sage's youngest son Asura.**

**The link between them is Kurama. Kurama as an example of pure hatred. Hatred separates them. What happens when one manages to to suppress the hatred? A new beginning**

**Kurama was once warned Sasuke: "This may be our last meeting, so let me say one last thing. DO NOT KILL ... Naruto. You'LL LIVE TO REGRET IT ... ....."...Kurama's here already know what the connection is between them.**

**Sasuke is there knew he had to endure on his way, because Naruto bring him back. ( subconsciously )**

**Sasuke: "No matter how much you try to rewrite the signposts, my eyes can strip away the top layer!"**

**Itachi realized the connection between the two of them: "I'm just realizing that the signposts were not your only guides."**

**He stopped under a tree to rest and lost in thoughts.**

  **"Oh man, what are you doing here Sasuke?" ..... he heard a voice.**

**"I think." ..... he knew that voice imaginary.**

**"What about your mission?" .....**

**"There's time. This is more important than anything else." .... he was glad to hear that voice.**

**"What is more important?" .....**

**"Do not be silly of course you're more important than anything." .... remember how that voice known to be very persistent.**

**"What are you thinking?" ......**

**"About you, about me, about everything!"......he said quietly.**

**"Where are you going?" .....**

**"Orochimaru to ask for Kabuto." ....... there he stopped thinking but did not have time because of the following issues.**

**"Are you sure that's Kabuto?" ..... question took him by surprise.**

**" Do not tell me!" ...... he knew that he was not careful - one mistake.**

**"Where did you get my Kunai?" ......**

**"Uzushiogakure!" ....... answers.**

**"Time Portal! Why?" ..... voice was curious.**

**"It makes sense. It is better to check everything." ..... there he realized how much he missed their bickering.**

**"Konoha is not what you see. Why did you write that?" ...... he remembered to ask.**

**"Because is not!" ....... receive a response.**

**"Sasuke would be a good Hokage!" ....... he grimaced imitating him.**

**"Maybe it's not just one savior!" ..... voice replied with a laugh.**

**"My dream is to be Hokage but no longer." ...... he asked him curiously.**

**"Maybe because I'm not there!" ...... answer left him speechless.**

**After a long pause, a voice asked, "Do you remember our first conflict? Remember where we fought! Maybe we were being watched."**

**"I can not lose the memory!".......Sasuke said but did not receive a return reply.**

**"The key is Madara Uchiha!" ...... that name suddenly left a deep impact on him.**

 


	7. FACTS

**"Long time no see! How are you?" ..... she heard a gentle voice next to her ear.**

**She winced at the words and blushed slightly. "Naruto! Where are you?" .... her voice was soft as ever.**

**"Hinata ..... I regret I might disappoint you, but there's a reason." ...... paused for a moment. "I know you have feelings for me. I have them for you, too. But our feelings are different. "**

**"Stop Naruto all I understand. I can not win against Kakashi sensei. He is a really great guy. The whole time he was there for you. When I think back ..... I'm sorry I should have been more with you. "...... her voice becomes even quieter.**

**"Hinata, it's not over. It is true that I have feelings for Kakashi, but everything is changing. No one can be sure what all can happen. The future is indefinite. My future is uncertain ..... but do you know ... that you have the person next to you who have these same feelings that I have for Kakashi ..... person who is close to you and that he keep an eye on you from the shadows .... "...... she was surprised with that fact.**

**"Who?"......she asked, confused.**

**"You're going to find out when the time comes!" ........** **"Hinata, who do you miss most?" .......a new question.**

**"Neji!" ........quickly replied.**

**"And do not Naruto ....?" .....his voice was playful.**

**"But these are two separate cases ....." .....she defended herself.**

**"Hinata ... well, you're not shy?" ..... he was toying with her.**

**"Damn Naruto!" ..... she turns to red.**

**"I do not remember that we ever talked like this .... well, you're always losing consciousness, when I've been close to you."......his voice was gentle.**

**"I'm glad you give me a chance!" ..... she said quietly.**

**"Always, Hinata! You can always count on me. Hinata nothing is certain. Things are not as they should be. Do not forget you have Byakugan. Byakugan is important in this matter. I have to go!".......in front of her appear beautiful blue eyes and warm lips descended on her forehead. ......."Be safe."**

 

** FIRST DOOR OPENS **

**After a break and rest from the five hours all they were at the office Hokage everyone with his thoughts.**

**Kakashi begin the first conversation. "Ahem, I'm not crazy but I had a meeting with Naruto in thought or Naruto so present in them that I had the illusion that I'm talking to him."....passed his finger across his forehead.**

**On this all the turned to him with hope in their eyes. They did not interrupt.**

**" We all make mistakes in assumptions. We all guessed that Naruto who disappeared. We did not take the fact that we are the ones who have somehow lost somewhere. I do not know how to explain it but I have the impression that we are closed to the world of fantasy. Actual Konoha is somewhere else and not here. There is something wrong but I do not know what."....looked at them in confusion:" Naruto is alive but not here. Something happened at the place where he disappeared.**

**I do not know why he mentioned the Valley of the End. These two places are the places from which we start. ".....his thoughts were back on an event that occurred in a specific location and remembered his promise:" :" I'm sorry that I did not then arrived on time. I promise that from now on I'll be there for you. It was only when you left I realized I was wrong. Your stubbornness to never give up, not only to me but to all of us it was a good lesson where most of us realize how much we were wrong."**

 

**SECOND DOORS OPENS**

**" Kakashi sensei you're not crazy. I had a conversation in my mind with Naruto.".....Sakura said to the surprise of others:" This seems to your statement is correct. Naruto told me that I'm not where I should be."....she gently grinned:" And he even said something ...."....came up to him and whispered: "The face worth Hokage!"**

**Kakashi slightly flushed and laughed: "Damn Naruto! Wait Sakura! You and I had a conversation with him at the same time."....he was thinking out loud:" The second dimension, a parallel universe. How is that possible?"**

 

**THIRD DOOR OPENS**

**Tsunade join the conversation: "I had a conversation with him, and it seems to me and everyone here." ... others nodded their heads.**

**"Okay, we have couple facts. We are the ones who are lost. The actual Konoha is elsewhere. Uzushiogakure, the place of his disappearance is important. Talk with his grandfather's real as well as his meeting with Kushina. Somewhere still Uzushiogakure exists. Kakashi you mentioned parallel world. In this case, the question is where are we? "**

**"When I mentioned Kabuto said to check twice before assuming?" ..... she thought.**

 

**FOUR DOOR OPENS**

**Schikamaru said: "Pieces of paper his clicks from memory collected over time and hide the key. Kakashi you mentioned Valley of the End. In that place something important happened that we do not see. Everything that has been said are the facts. In my conversation with him said we that we're running out of time whatever that means. Madara, Obito and black Zetsu are still alive. Whether a war took place or not i do not know. All I know is that we need as soon as possible find a way out of this place, no matter where we are."**

**"When I mentioned Kabuto he said that he was wrong!"......**

 

**LAST DOORS OPEN**

**"Sasuke, you were not at Orochimaru! Something happened?".....asked Kakashi .**

**"As you and I had a conversation with him. The body Kabuto we find fault slipped up somewhere. Once again, we should check his body. All that has been said here are the facts. Naruto who disappeared is not our Naruto. If we lost, we are in illusion. The real Naruto is somewhere else ... probably in a parallel world but do not know how he managed it. **Valley of the End is a place where something happened to Naruto. We were not alone. Someone was watching us from the side.****

**Clicks his memory written down on pieces of paper are real. His memory was all the time in disarray. I think there were two of Naruto in one. Do not lose the real self, he wrote on a piece of paper as a reminder. Madara in the matter plays a crucial role. I think that the war took place, but there is something that we do not see. "**

****"When I mentioned Kabuto he said **to ch****** **eck twice."......**

 

**KNOWN FACTS**

 

**"Okay, now we know a little more than at the beginning of our search.**

**First .... we are in illusion or elsewhere but it is certain that we are the ones who are the lost.**

**Second .... paper with clicks Naruto's memory are real.**

**Third .... Uzushiogakure exists in another dimension and this is important to us.**

**Fourth .... Madara is the key.**

**Fifth .... Naruto is alive and takes us in the right way.**

**Sixth .... Valley of the End is the place where it all started, most likely.**

**Seventh .... war occurred, because he was a catch 22 for Naruto, probably it was the trigger for his mind.**

**"Eight ..... Kabuto ....." .....**

  **Damn it, where are we? How is all this possible? ".... Tsunade sighed heavily.**

 

**KEY**

  **"Byakugan is important in the matter." Hinata ... join the conversation: "He told me, however, for now I can not activate the Byakugan, because I do not know what I need to see, in this case up to now can not use it."......stop for a moment:" "Something I have to see but what?"**

 


	8. COBWEB

**"It is time for all of us re-examine body." ....Sasuke said.**

**Without a word all together they walked toward the lab for research. Hinata's activated Byakugan watching every detail around them.** **At first glance, there was nothing strange about them, but when she wanted to relax she noticed something that did not give her peace.**

**"There's something strange!" ...... she suddenly stopped.**

**"What's wrong Hinata?" ..... Sasuke is slammed into her losing balance and before he fall, he leaned against the wall.**

**When he tried to move away from the wall, he felt a slight resistance:** **"Huh, something is wrong with the wall." .... he said, puzzled.**

**"Hinata walked to the wall and she hand passed over it, feeling that her hand there are sticky:" Well, Sasuke you're right. Something is not right here. "...... she stepped back and began to carefully observe the wall.**

**"What are you two doing?" .... Kakashi stopped and turned toward them.**

**They all stopped and they turned behind."We're wasting time!" .... Tsunade said.**

**Hinata is on surprise all went ahead by pulling the hand on the wall: "Hinata, what are you doing?"**

**"We're wasting our time, Naruto warned us .... there is something wrong with the walls .... they are sticky." ..... she explained.**

**Now they others paid attention on environment. Nothing they could not see but they all felt a chill in the spine.**

**Something was present among them, something undefined as if they were connected, because they had exactly the same thought: "We're doomed!"**

**On the table in the lab lay covered body. They did not want to touch the body until it comes Shizune. Tsunade turned spotlight to illuminate the body. Hinata out of the corner of her eye caught for the moment a flashing thread.**

**Hinata is activated Byakugan and the first thing she noticed they are connected with threads.**

**She turned around and ran out of breath: "To hell!".....threads that they were linked by linking up with the space around them except that they were not connected with the body on the table.**

**When the body was discovered she could not see a thing unknown. She knew Kabuto and body is belonged to him. The only unknown was that it was Kabuto much younger than now.** **After many experiments on the body could only conclude that the body is real but Sakura found that do not match the DNA sequence in its entirety.**

**"This is a clone of Kabuto!" ....she yelled.**

**"Clone!" ... cried out in one voice.**

**"Clone" ... Sasuke was thinking aloud: "Why is it only Naruto disappeared and no one else? I was wrong when I assumed that he was from another time.....** **No, check again. Why is Naruto said that he is wrong. This is something we can not see properly. My mind ...." ..... Sasuke paused:"I know that we do not see or look wrong!" ... Sasuke will persistently.**

  **Hinata decided to discover what she noticed: "Barely visible threads connects us all with the environment except his body."**

**"I have one request Hinata!" ... Kakashi said to her: "I think we should go up to the Hokage Monument. If I'm right, we will know for sure ...." ... failed to tell until the end, because all understood what he was saying.**

**"The time is slipping away and I think you're on the right track!" ..... Schikamaru said.**

**At the top of the Hokage Monument Hinata activated Byakugan . She knew now what to look for. She saw not only a thread but a lot of them like it was a cobweb covered Konoha and the inhabitants in it.**

**"Cobweb all around us, and as it becomes more dense."...she said .**

**"Konoha is not what it seems!" .... Sasuke said: "Naruto how many times are you going to get us out of trouble." .... a tear sliding down his face.**


	9. SECRET REVEALS

 

**"Sasuke you said something that caught my ears. Only Naruto disappeared. His clan's Uzumaki clan. They are known for their knowledgeable in the art of fūinjutsu. I suppose they left a seal that is activated by the members of their clan. I say this assuming Uzushiogakure exist in another dimension. By activating the seal Naruto is probably transferred to their dimension."....Kakashi said:" The road takes us to the place of his disappearance."**

**"What is with Kabuto?" ...... Tsunade asked.**

**"They went back to the body on the table, but there was not Kabuto. On the table lay one of the bodies belonging to the robbers who were caught in the blast.".....they were all confused.**

**"I knew something was wrong. My brain has a wrong perception." .... Sasuke gripped the head.**

**""Kabuto or not but thanks to him, we learned that the only Konoha caught up in the mystery of the cobwebs." ... Sakura said.**

**"But what about the rest of our world. Why only Konoha?" ..... Schikamaru said.**

**"This is not our world. Konoha is elsewhere! I remember when Naruto said that distorted the barriers of space and time. The seals are used for the wrong purposes and can easily break. On one of the pieces of paper that said nothing was as it should be.**

**I have a feeling that this Konoha as we do in an artificially created universe. The spider probably through a network release a toxin that affects our perception.**

**The people of Konoha are real, and everything else is artificially created to disbelieve but all created by cobwebs. Naruto warned us that we do not have much time if we want to live. This spider web is real and we are all prey wise spider who wants to get rid of all of us.**

**Naruto is the first escape from the net which is not supposed to happen. Thanks to his clan he managed to escape."....Kakashi tried to explain.**

**"If this is an artificially created world how Naruto managed to activate the seal?"....Shizune asked, confused.**

**" This is a projection of the real world. A copy of our world. All we forget one thing ... Who's with Naruto? Nobody knows what can the old fox, a legendary beast.**

**Clicks Naruto's memory go back to the distant past and I feel that this is not only his journey into another dimension. The answer to that may find if we can get out of this world. "....Kakashi explained.**

**" I do not understand how and when we moved into this world?" ...... Tsunade was confused.**

**"Simply, using techniques seals! When? That's another question. I guess after the war when they began Naruto's nightmare. Who? Naruto mentioned Madaru as the master key. In a conversation with him mentioned a CAUSAL LOOP .** **Those were his last words. ".....Sasuke simply explain.**

_** A causal loop is a [paradox of time travel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_paradox) that occurs when a later (future) event is the cause of an earlier (past) event, through some sort of [time travel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_travel). The past event is then partly or entirely the cause of the future event, which is the past event's cause. Since a causal loop has no independent origin, it is also called a bootstrap paradox or anontological paradox. ** _


	10. ESCAPE

** **

**"It is time to leave this world before spiderweb close all routes." .... Kakashi had somewhat excited voice.**

**"Damn Kakashi're not the only ones who want to see him." .... Sakura smiled.**

**"The question is how we can switch in his time and space." .... Schikamaru trembling voice.**

**"Uzushiogakure!" .... Sasuke said: "I think there is a passage from this world. Probably Naruto on the other side is working on it. I will use Space-Time Dōjutsu."**

**(The technique creates a black and dark blue spiral portal that allows Sasuke and others to enter it with ease.)**

**"His kunai will come in handy as a guide for him." .... Tsunade held Naruto's kunai: "Before we start we need to gather some things that will come in handy later as pieces of paper with Naruto's memories." ..... she remembered.**

**The people of Konoha are easily without large crowds and panic out of the Konoha leaving their clones using the Shadow Clone Technique. Many others have used other techniques that do not cause a disturbance in the spider's web.**

**With the help of a dog Pakun they found the place where they found Naruto's Kunai returning it to the same place. They all had packed papers which they took with them when they were in Naruto's apartment.**

**When they were all together the population was in the middle while the others were around them, helping Sasuke not to spend too much chakra.**

**Sasuke activates Rinnegan and entered into black and dark blue spiral portal. Sasuke was right that Naruto on the other side also open the portal.**

**All of them shone bright flash for a moment leaving them blind.**

**"Just in time you know!" .... so they heard a familiar voice that they missed.**

**Blue eyes of the heavenly glow they watched with joy that not long ago saw in his eyes.**

****


	11. STAR RECORD 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my first work on the topic of boy love boy .... but for the story is okay.

                                                                                       

**"Sakura"**

**You will always stay in my heart,**

**Oh my love, you're the reason why I believe in love… uh oh**

**No one will ever take your place,**  
**Oh my love, every single day, my love for you grows stronger**  
**If you had another choice**  
**Will you stay here with me**  
**You know that, I don't wanna go**

**Don't say goodbye**  
**If you still believe in us**  
**My love will never fade away**  
**Never ever fade away**  
**Even if you're far away, far away**  
**Memories will keep us close**  
**Someday we will be**  
**Together you and me**  
**Forever**

**Nothing's gonna change my love for you**  
**I promise my love forever**  
**Just believe in me, no I won't make you cry**  
**Promise me, no matter what, you'll be back**  
**Nobody can ever replace, you, in my heart**  
**I will always, we will always**

**Don't say goodbye**  
**If you still believe in us**  
**My love will never fade away**  
**No, never fade away**  
**Even if you're far away, so far away**  
**Memories will keep us close**  
**Someday we will be**  
**Together you and me**  
**Forever**  
**Someday we will be**  
**Just you and me**

**Meeting with his friends was something more than just meetings. Feelings, emotions long suppressed came out in waves and spilled into the river of eternal life that is experienced perhaps only once in a lifetime. But before entering the river of life they had a meeting with the head of the clan.**

**Naruto, who was standing in front of them was different. Something in his attitude changed. They felt this change but they could not figure out what kind of change it is, as it is in their eyes a fog. Naruto was hidden in the fog, and they only see his silhouette.**

**The time from when they did not see his dazzling smile, bright blue eyes, full of life it seemed to them that it flew an entire eternity. Eternity that linked their lives in the cherry tree, which will be in its full bloom, sumptuously shine full divine beauty shine that will last longer than eternity. Kakashi did not take his eyes off him for fear that he, being that filled his life completely disappear again, in the same breath.**

**There before him stood a being who is to take away his breath. The meaning and purpose of its existence, there was within reach of his hand. Kakashi was surprised, because his body is no longer belong to him, his mind was no longer his, everything, absolutely everything belonged to the creature who was standing there, there in front of him.**

**For the first time in his life he felt that he drinks a glass full of nectar, which is from him, took all his worries and problems. All his emotions were there, all his feelings long suppressed came out to the surface feelings that will melt and turn into lava and magma, feelings that are waiting for the perfect moment to pour into the river of passion, lust and hunger.**

**There was nothing more important, hell or paradise on both just to be accepted to a being whom he loved more than anything, more than his life. There was nothing more important, hell or heaven, he is both accepted only to be with the being he loved more than anything, more than his life.**  
**With all his remaining strength he can barely restrain himself not to fly and grab Naruto in his arms, but he had to wait.**

**"For God's sake only, just for a moment, my dear Kami give me a chance for me to be alone with him. I pray for the first time in my life with only one touch, a strong hug, and perhaps a gentle kiss. Cherry beautiful flower, so fragrant and intoxicating, is there in front of me. "...... his thoughts became chaotic when he heard a voice.**

**"Grandpa I have only one request. Give me a moment to be with the only person to whom I owe everything." .... his voice was very quiet.**

**An older man who stood beside Naruto, gently smiled and said: "Go and take your time as much as you need, because ......" ..... Naruto swift hand movement shut his mouth and just said: "Thank you, grandpa!"**

**Naruto, rapid steps approached Kakashi and pulled it with him away from all. Kakashi could not believe that all his cries and prayers filled. Nothing else mattered.**  
**Warm hand holding his hand, the hand that was cold and trembling with anticipation. The heat emanating from the hand that held his hand quickly began to spread through his body. Heat, which initiated all his feelings suddenly and without warning turn into an eruption that nobody could stop.**  
  
**"Kakashi ..." ... Naruto only managed to say.**

**"Naruto!" .... voice he heard at his side immediately to him took all the strength from his body.**

**I do not know if you have experienced that feeling when you hear a voice full of wishes, hopes and expectations, to you in just a moment completely and without fear to surrender the person you love more than yourself, because it is hard to put into words.**

**Voice, which has a tone that all your feelings turned into a sensation, an identical feeling that resonates with the voice and feelings of the person who holds you in arms, pure and innocent love of a person who is ready to put the life for you, you for it, for all eternity and beyond eternity. Complete surrender without conditions or limits.**

**The words become superfluous, minds have become one, the environment and the sounds disappear. You exist and the person next to you and that's it. Pure and innocent love, desire becomes an explosion that has the same purpose of creating resonance of new stars in the universe.**  
**Two bodies have become one.**

**Kakashi felt Naruto with the all your senses. He lay in his firm embrace. Naruto is his for all time. Naruto is also felt Kakashi deep down, completely unaware of what had just happened, but that was it, the nectar is drained from the cup of love, hell or heaven all is one.**

**"Kakashi I love you! You now belong to me." ..... "Naruto I love you! You're finally all mine!" .... words are no longer necessary between them.**

**Everything that has a beginning has an end. Two bodies with fatigue lie side by side with their hands tightly intertwined. Blue eyes, deep green eyes looking at the same image, the image of a beloved being beside him. Sounds and images of the environment is slowly returning to their time. Two bodies filled with the nectar of love lay beneath the cherry blossom near a river, a river that at its turbulent surface, refers petals of the cherry blossom.**

**"It's time we get back!" .... Naruto spoke first.**

**"I know!" ..... Kakashi said.**

**"Kakashi ... I love you!" .... he shook his had and said: "Do not forget ...."**

**Kakashi is not clearly heard these words, because his mind was occupied with other thoughts. ( with other thoughts ..... tattoo .... combination of characters from the Uzumaki clan and Anbu)**

**No one was surprised when the two of them went back holding hands.** **He did not have no time for throwing and joking, because time was running out. Soon they will be given an explanation for some things but not for all.** **Naruto just shook hands and separated from Kakashi.**

**He walked to his grandfather and said: "We can move on!"**

**When Naruto said it was time to move on the old man is a sign of one hand made a sign and said: "It's time!"**

**When he said this shadow is removed from their eyes and are just now seen Naruto in the right issue. First noticed blue eyes they were no longer round and wide but matured in this beautfull almond shaped ones that had a strek of strengt and determination as well as innocence stared right into it.**

**In front of them is supposed to stand a young man of 16 years, but in front of them was an older boy who was nearing twenties. The body was significantly is formed as in the adult male.**

**Perfect body structure with proporcinalnom muscle mass. His shoulders were broad and strong. Dressed in black trousers and a black sleeveless sweater. On his shoulder is a tattoo with a sign Uzimaki clan as well as on the back of sweater.**

**He radiated confidence and strength. They were all surprised.**

**Time passes something quickly which reflected on his body when he came to us. We do not know the cause but probably and nine tails has something to do with it.".......the last sentence is particularly pointed out and coughed significantly.**

**"Kurama, this is your part!" ... he was a bit angry, but in the end he said: "Thank you!" ... slightly flushed.**

**"Do not worry brat! Your mind is finally in nirvana!" ..... they heard a deep voice nine tails and he said, ... "Kakashi brat take care of him!"**

**Not all know what it says, but those who knew blush to the roots of the hair.**

**Kakashi understood very well and the face had a mischievous smile, thinking to himself, "I'm not a big pervert!"....took a deep breath and said:"Do not worry he is in good hands!" ..... Kakashi said softly.**

**Soon he then struck another fact: "This beautiful boy is mine! I had it all to myself for crying out loud!" ...... in an instant was red from the hot flushes from head to toe.**

**"Damn Kakashi!" ......hissed Naruto:"For God's sake, I am eaten!".... pass his thoughts because Kakashi had devouring passionate view .**

****


	12. ENCOUNTER

**"Naruto, my dear boy!" ..... Tsunade first came up to him and gave him a hug, "Damn, why did not you say anything? I can not even begin to imagine what you've been through." ... tears ran down her face .**

**"Ba chan I'm sorry but I could not tell who's who. Thanks Kurama my mind is somewhat functioned. I had the impression that my every mistake can have undesirable effects. At first I thought I was going crazy." .... his face darkened as his mind slowly coming to the surface.**

**"First they began a nightmare. In my dreams I saw friends who were no longer alive. With them I could talk. Scenes of war are non-stop rolling as though the mind fell into the circle from which there was no escape. I began to wonder what I could have done differently that the outcome be favorable for us. I can not accept that .... a lot of dead people .... for God's sake ..... I am weak, I was not strong enough to protect ... "... his voice cracking.**

**"Naruto, it's not your fault! You were not alone. We've all been there. You were strong but we were weak. We believed that we are strong, but compared to him we realized that we made a mistake. Our arrogance, the strength of the five Kage as boomerang back to us back in the face. We did not know plans of Madare. He is a powerful shinobi sick mind.".....powerful embrace not allowed to move an inch:"You're not guilty!"**

**"Naruto's not your fault! You're not the only one wondering what we could do differently. No one is satisfied with the outcome of the war. If my father ..." ..... Schikamaru paused for the a minute, "Damn!"**

**"Naruto listen to me! You are powerful! For God's sake, all nine of the legendary beast was on our side. The four Hokage, all powerful shinobi were there, and even that was not enough until they interfered gods. Madara ... that man ... "... Kakshi approached from behind Naruto and Tsunade leave him in his arms:" Do not doubt yourself! Never!".....lowered his head on his shoulder:" Do not doubt yourself! Please!"**

**"Naruto, if for the a moment think now it's your fault and you are not strong I'll never speak to you." ... Sasuke was angry: "Damn Naruto I've managed to come back from the dark side to the light thanks to you. Is not sufficient proof that you are a strong, strong enough to protect us all. ".......Sasuke has been shaken to the roots of his being.**

**Kakashi let Naruta from the embrace that went over Sasuke and stood in front of him."I will never doubt yourself! I believe in you as well as all here. I pledge my dear brother! ".....two beings linked with red thread of bells greeted each other and Naruto suddenly kissed Sasuke and after a few moments stepped away from him with mischievous, his famous grin shine on his face. :"Nop, it is not the same!"**

**Sasuke remain frozen for a moment: "For God's sake!" .... said and glancing mischievously at Kakashi grabbed Naruto and returned the kiss with slightly longer duration. :" Now!"....looked straight at each other. "Nop, it is not the same! I'm sorry! Kakashi is much better at it!".....Naruto said and return again to Kakashi:"I'm completely his!"....took his hand and squeezed hard.**

**"Everything is fine as long as you understand!"......Kakashi back grip.**

**"Kakashi sensei now I understand what they mean chains and shackles!" ..... laughed Sasuke.**

**"I think it is not necessary for now. But you never know. Shinobi must see what lies underneath it."......mischievous grin was on Kakashi face.**

**"A lot of trouble! Not only Naruto, but the two of you become big trouble. " .... Schikamaru deep breath.**

**"Unpredictable shinobi!" .... Tsunade added.**

**"Sakura I'm sorry, it's nothing serious. You know I could never hurt you!".....Naruto apologizes to her.**

**Sakura slowly walked over to Naruto: "I missed you a lot!" ... and in her recognizable manner smack Naruto: "This time is forgiven but next time ..." ... Naruto pulled her into a hug, "I know!". ... gently slide his finger across her face and dropped a kiss on her cheek.**

**Kiba looked toward Hinata but he saw only a gentle smile.**

**He smiled too and thought to himself: "Nothing is lost!"**

**Hinata as if she knew what he thoughts went to him and said: "Kiba, I like you a lot!"**

**"Thank you Naruto!" .... Kiba's bright eyes watched friends that he missed and grabbed Hinata's hand, "Hinata and I like you too much more!" .... Hinata returned grip.**

**"Naruto why pieces of paper!" ... Tsunade suddenly asked.**

**"When the nightmares started to be frequent and deadly I thought that I could lose. The nights were very long. I've slept less and to keep your mind awake all my memories, the feeling began to write on pieces of paper.**

**As I was writing the piece of paper my mind was getting some other memories that are coming into conflict with mine. In truth, I was lost for a while, because I could not figure out what is real and what is not.**

**When I completely lost sleep I started late at night to venture out and wander through Konoha. Thanks to Kurama who was really afraid of losing me he found a way to keep my mind normal. My senses were amplified, and I could look around me from a different angle.**

**The first thing I noticed bright thread were hardly visible around me that I was linked with the space and the people of Konoha. Bright thread I noticed by accident probably due to refraction of light.**

**But when I came to meet with other people outside of our village they were gone. However, they are stretched beyond our village connected with space. It did not give me peace. Something told me that something was wrong.**

**My mind took a picture that was completely out of my memory. As if someone had sent information. More and more I wrote on a piece of paper. All I could think of.**

**The image showed our world wrapped strands as if we had fallen into a spider web. My mind was completely blocked that I even wondered whether I was real, as if I had fallen into a nightmare from which they can not wake up.**

**You've all been busy and rarely moments when we were together I could not talk about it. I'm not convinced that you believe me. I'm sorry for that. The more I became darker, shadow was already on me until the moment I got to Uzushiogakure.**

**In Sage mode I caught one place where there were no bright thread. I threw the kunai and launched Ultra-Big Ball Rasenšuriken and found myself here.".....Kakashi did not let go at all times of his arms giving him the support .**

**Naruto was grateful for that, because it broke halfway as he recalled the nightmare."Kakashi do not forget!" .... said quietly that only he heard.**

**Kakashi is registered in the mind but then slip into the conversation the old man.**


	13. ARTIFICIAL WORLD

**"The question of how you end up in an artificial universe. Easy. Madara!" ..... they are all waiting impatiently with the further explanation .**

**"Thanks to the Madari your world is pure confusion. Neither gods is not easy with him. All the barriers of time and space are in a mess. For God's sake, even the gods intervened in the world of mortals. But we also to blame for many things. Our technique seals use on all sides and in all circumstances without looking at the consequences. It is time to correct mistakes by us, which we did. Naruto is the already a lot to do. ".... the old man hugged Naruto.**

**"What did I do?" .... he asked, confused.**

**"Do not worry, trust me! The less you know the better for you?"....grandfather laughed.**

**"What did he do?".....Tsunade asked curiously.**

**"If there's time maybe I can tell you!" ..... the old man smiled.**

**"Let us return to Madari. As you all know Madara had a plan that was fortunately not fulfilled. But he had a another plan if you fail the original plan should be activated another plan, the complete destruction of Konoha.".......the fact that they were all surprised.**

**"Artificial creations of the world!"....said Kakashi.**

**"Thanks to Naruto plan failed! "......for a moment he paused, "But thanks to you as well. Without you the plan would have made it!" ..... the old man said.**

**"But would not have done it without him. He guided us." ..... Shikamaru said.**

**"I wonder how he managed to make contact with us?" ..... Sakura was curious.**

**"Kunai!".......the old man looked at them.**

**"Kunai, on what way?" .... Hinata said.**

**"Chakra! Kunai kept his chakra. Sasuke found him. When he took a thread to connect to it and you were all connected again. The spider who prepared the network feeds chakra and through its network released a poison that affects the perception of the mind. Because of that little fact there has been no disruption of the chakras within the spider network. As a result Naruto was able to get in touch with you. "**

**"But why an artificial world" ..... Tsunade asked.**

**"Because there is no escape from it!" .... Naruto closed his eyes: "It would be the end for all of us. Konoha would no longer exist."**

**"Madara is long to prepare this plan. It was not until near the end of life could activate the Rinnegan opened the way for time travel. He opened the way in the near future. But all that is related to the activities of the gods can not be seen.**

**He could not see the whole future. Probably he saw the picture he was dead and then put the plan into operation with a delay time. Using Fūinjutsu Trap (the target is sealed into a different dimensional space, within the location of the seal), ninjutsu Net-Shaped Prison along with small modifications Summoning technique - Space time ninjutsu, technique mirrors and projections.**

**An ingenious plan! The plan is supposed to activate after his death.**

**You were in your world. The artificial world is created there. The artificial world is a perfect parallel projection of your world. "Smal exception only Konoha was trapped in this world. Everything else was a reflection in the mirror technique and projection.**

**Everything that happened in the real world it was happening and artificial. The actual Konoha transferred to the an artificial world and in the real world is a projection of Konoha as a reflection of the artificial world.**

**Destruction of Konoha in an artificial world gone to Konoha in the real world."**

**"I do not understand anything!" ..... Sakura was totally confused.**

**"Really brilliant plan all the world exist simultaneously in the same place and time!" ... Kakashi was deeply impressed and others who understand.**

**"Now you understand how the seals can cause undesirable effects. An ingenious mind can do miracles. So the whole shinobi world is conspiring against us. Because we have destroyed but we found a way to correct our mistakes."......old man was conceived.**

**"That's why Naruto can activate the seal. Uzushiogakure are part of both worlds." ....Sasuke said:" But why we ended up in this world among you?"**

**"You said that the Plan would be played after his death. Why is now activated, and not before." ..... Hinata asked.**

**"The role played white Zetsu and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Although the Madara died earlier part of his chakra remained preserved until its revival. It was only after his real death seals have been activated.".....explain**.


	14. LAST PART

**"But why we ended up in this world among you?" ....the old man repeated the question and looked at Sasuke"** **....."That's a question you'll get the answer in a moment!" .... the old man turned and stared deeply into Naruto's eyes but said nothing.**

**"The area UZUSHIOGAKURE is scalar wave transmitter that uses the zero point energy. Such a transmitter we use." ( The idea of Nikola Tesla ). We managed to make the portal from our side. As long as there is a transmitter in your world, we are able to keep in contact.**

**Naruto chakra is a great source of energy that can be traced as well as yours. Let's say you are in this world because of the wishes of an old man to get to know people first-hand that are most important to my grandson. Portal will for some time be functional and this is perhaps......perhaps... the last time to see my grandson."....old man was sad.**

**"The last time!" .... asked Sasuke.**

**"Naruto is part of their action destroyed the area and disrupted the field around the remains of the village. The seals that were left were gone. Even though I'm sad I'm happy I had the chance to meet you all. Sasuke remember another fact all the seals that we have created will disappear in your world as if did not exist. Our entire legacy handed in his hands. This is not the first meeting with my grandson. I had a chance to know him through his actions, and I concluded that this my decision is correct. "...... the old man to the astonishment of all laughed.**

**"Why is Naruto misjudged the Kabuto chakru?"......Kakashi quickly said.**

**"Naruto's brain was under stronger dose of poison because of his powerful chakra. For him, Kabuto is the main culprit which is not punished." ..... the old man took a deep breath: "If it were not nine tails Naruto would not be standing here among us. Information travels spider's web. Naruto misperception caused yours, because you are all interrelated strands.**

**Kakashi you are really interesting person. Your mind and reasoning are on the verge of genius. No wonder my grandson in you has a great interest in all possible directions. "..... old man slapped Kakashi on his back:" Take care of him! ".....Kakashi blushed and gripped the hand of an old man, "I will!"...."Kakashi something else, choose wisely!" .... he whispered in his ear while he looked puzzled.**

**"I have one more question Valley of the End. What happened there?" ...... Sasuke looked at the floor, wondering silently.**

**"Naruto you take it while I prepare everything for your return!" ...... grandfather looked at him with pride.**

**"Well, Sasuke does not worry too much with this, because this event opened the door for me to meet my grandfather. While I was unconscious white Zetsu tried to take over my body. What was going on between I do not know but when I woke up I was in a strange place.**

**In short I found out about this place and I learned that I have a grandfather. I got the opportunity to go back in time and meet my parents when they were alive. I saw Kakashi sensei in a completely different light.** **When I woke up I was on his back. Nothing I could not remember!" " ..... tears streaming down his face:"But when we end up in the artificial world oll memories came back. My mind was a complete mess.**

**I no longer know what is real and what is not. Kurama me kept alive."**

**"Everything you write on pieces of paper were your real memories!" ....... Tsunade whispered.**

**"I'm sorry, I'm sorry ..... at least that I told what I knew some things would have probably changed.".....Sasuke approached him:"I'm glad you did not!"**

**"Naruto's time!" ..... grandfather approached him and said: "Be wise! We have already said goodbye!"**

**"Sasuke is the same advice for you!" ....said the old man and embraced him: "Look at him!".**

**"Naruto, Sasuke!" ... the old man invited them in sideways: "None of them will not remember anything  it just the two of you have memories. I'm sorry but that's the deal!"....pushed them into the portal and said, "Wisely choose!".....they e** **ntered into a portal and they leave the parallel world.**

**Naruto and Sasuke found at the site of their struggle Valley of the End. Infinite Tsukuyomi has not been canceled.**

**"We went back to the past, why?" .... both cried out in the same voice.**

**"I have a deal for you!" ..... In front of them stood Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.**

**"Offer" ... they were confused.**

**"If you want you can go back in time and change it. You can go back to the time when you were born, not before! You can also choose a time when you want to return. Do not think that the gods have no understanding of mortals." .... with these were surprised.**

**"Changing the past!" ..... Naruto and Sasuke were pale.**

**"Wisely choose!" ..... they remembered the words of Naruto grandfather.**

**"The two are not a lot of thought. An opportunity not to be missed so easily." ...... in the same voice said, "Valley of the End, during our first conflict!"**

**"Sooner or later!" ..... he asked them.**

**" **Sooner**!" ..... both of them chose the same in the the same voice.  **

**"Just the two of you will have memories of events that happened but will not dispose of your power you have now. All you have to learn then it will be all. You must not tell anyone what you know. You agree with that! "...... once again asked them.**

**"We agree!" .... looked at the same time and they thought: "For God's sake, what we've gotten ourselves into?"**

**In an instant, he sent them to the past**.

**"Thank you!" ..... Naruto's grandfather stood beside Hogoromo.  
**

**"This would not be done without your help." ..... Hogoromo laughed: "I hope to prepare a better future than it is now."**

**"They'll be fine!" .... the old man smiled...."They chose wisely!"**

**"I agree with you. I wish them all the luck!" .... laughed softly: "They deserve all a new beginning!"**

**"You two make plans without me!" .... surprised them a nice, pleasant voice.**

**Two of them turned at the same time: "It is not possible! How '"**

**"Mom!" .....Hagoromo said and he gets hit on the head:"You stupid boy! Do you think I fall twice in the exam in a row .....and you to know I love Naruto and Sasuke! Um, I'm gonna mix in your plan .... but you do not worry ..... they do not know what I prepared them." .....she hugged them both:" "Let begin!"**

****

**"Oh, my precious Kami keep them safe ..... my mom ..... um .... is very unpredictable! Sasuke, Naruto, stay safe." ..... Hogoromo had a thoughtful look.**


	15. INCEPTION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My story may not be exciting, but it might be interesting :-))
> 
> Naruto and Sasuke were supposed to come back from the future into the past. What is hidden in the past?
> 
> On the way back, something happened and they did not return at the time they chose. They returned all the way to the beginning when they started Ninja Academy.......

  

                                          _ **"To dream the impossible dream. To reach the unreachable star. This is my quest, to follow that star,**_

_**No matter how hopeless, no matter how far To fight for the right without question or cause.** _

_**To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest.** _

_**That my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I'm laid to my rest And the world will be better for this.** _

_**That one man scorned and covered with scars** _

_**Still strove with his last ounce of courage** _

_**To fight the unbeatable foe, to reach the unreachable star." ( The Impossible Dream, Andy Williams)** _

 

**Naruto and Sasuke were supposed to come back from the future into the past.**

**On the way back, something happened and they did not return at the time they chose. They returned all the way to the beginning when they started Ninja Academy.......**

**They had seven, but they had the memory of everything that happened in the future.**

**Sasuke and Naruto were confused: "What happened? Sasuke do not tell me that I have to go back through torture as before." ..... Naruto was in a panic.**

**The splendor that he had in his eyes now was lost.**

**Anger and disappointment were too big which reflected on his face. Sasuke has also been in a panic. He did not like what happened and what they had to go back such a long time back.**

**"Naruto, we've got a memory. The memory of what happened, the knowledge that we have here in our minds. The techniques that we previously had to learn more, now we will be half less time to return them into full operation.**

**Also, they gave us a ban on techniques that we had before but do not relate to new techniques that we can learn. Now we have a wider range to learn something new. I think now you will not have a nickname dead leaf. You try to do Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. "..... he advised him.**

**When he managed to make his clones It slowly began to return to the mood: "Maybe you're right!" ...... then he remembered something else: "Kurama, do not tell me you're not here!" .... he is eagerly expecting a response.**

**After a while, he heard a familiar voice. "Damn brat, what happened why you two are so small?"**

**"Thank Kami, Kurama, I like you too much more now than before." .... he did not hide the joy in his voice.**

**"Of course I'll be here with you. You are my sweet Jinchuriki!" ..... he laugh.**

**"I do not understand how they could go wrong so much." ..... he was concern.**

**"Naruto, first we have to see when we returned two of us, in that exact time?" ......... he did not even uttered this sentence to the end, when they saw them approaching Iruka sensei with a very angry face.**

**"Sasuke what are you doing here? Why are not you in class?" ... Iruka sensei addressed only Sasuke, Naruto as if he never existed.**

**Both had their eyes wide open and looked confused at Iruka: "For God's sake do not again from scratch" ..... their thoughts were the same.**

**"Hey, Iruka Senpai when we're together at the Ichiraku ramen?" .... Naruto waited for a response, and then his face became sad, "Iruka Senpai why you hate me so much!" .... he whispered to himself: "I'm sorry Sasuke, but to pass this all from scratch ..." .... in his eyes were the tears uncontrollably streaming down his face.**

**Sasuke looked toward Iruka senpai and saw his eyes ice-cold that pierced his whole body and he froze in place, "Damn, I understand what you're saying!" ... Sasuke was angry.**

**"Naruto, I'm here now!" ..... he embraced him and said: "The two of us together in all, hatred of people from Konoha we share in half.".....he then turned to Iruka senpai;**

**"Naruto is not guilty! Iruka Senpai why you hate so much? For God's sake, you are his a teacher. He did not nine tails. He's a kid like me. " .... Sasuke said out of control.**

**Naruto pulled him by the arm and ran with him to the river, "Sasuke, do not you concerned about this, I have not forgotten how to be someone whom everyone hates .... feelings are there in me still ..., but now I could not stand it that he, of all people have these eyes. Sasuke and I ask you to watch what you say. "**

**"It's not fair" ... Sasuke moaned and a quick glance at Naruto with a question in his eyes ." What did I say ....?".**

**"Sasuke, you said I was not nine tails. I at that time I did not know that I carry inside Kurama ....".....he slightly frowned: "We hope that Iruka senpai will not pay attention to it."**

**"Iruka just stood there and watched them, "I can not be a teacher of Naruto!" ..... he fell to the floor.**

**He gathered his legs with his hands in the same way as when he was a child and before his eyes had a picture of nine tails that destroyed the village and killed his parents.**

**In this position, him found Kakashi: "Iruka what happened?" ..... book Icha Icha that he had in his hand, he put it in a small backpack and he was waiting for a response.**

**Iruka told him everything, "Kakashi, go for them. They know for the nine tails. Naruto is mostly affected my refusal. I'll be fine!"**

**The face of Kakashi suddenly become grim and he disappears in front of Iruka.**

**Naruto and Sasuke stood silently on the river bank. The sun lazily descended to rest. The dark red color on the horizon grew darker.**

**Naruto thought, and on the following words completely surprised Sasuke :"Sasuke I will be reported to the organization Root."**

**"Naruto, you're crazy!" .... Sasuke yelled loudly: "He will kill you without thinking. He has a connection to Orochimaru. Who knows what will he do to you? We are no longer powerful." ... Sasuke cried: "Do not go!"**

**"Sasuke, I have you back with the dark side, now it's your turn to if I step into the dark side .... I hope you'll take me back. Just because I know what the organization Root, I go there. I I'm too valuable, he will not kill me. Yamato senpai ... Sai ... many others that have become his prey .... I can not forget ... this is a chance for me to get close to him. ".... he explained: "The other thing..... Kakashi..... I love him but now it's impossible. Believe me, Sasuke, this is the best solution." .... Naruto had something quite different in mind but it had to be kept secret, even from Sasuke and he continued:" If I become strong enough, they will probably send me on a mission in the other villages.**

**So I will have the opportunity to gather information on time. We have to do everything that the war does not happen again. I do not think that he would say Orochimaru that I am the with him, because he wants for himself nine tails.**

**Sasuke, in a parallel world, my grandfather put his seal of Uzumaki clan to me, who has the function to cancel many types of seals if they come in contact with my body. Kurama has the same protection against Sharingan. Do not worry! Now, give me time to Chunin exams. ".... he smiled and tightly hugged Sasuke:" Save me!... If I do not get out in time, I'll wait for you to come get me. You know where I am!"....he calms down Sasuke and called Kurama: "Kurama, I hope you'll be with me."**

**"You do not worry about it brat, he still does not know anything about me. Sasuke, I'll guard him, be sure of it, or the whole Konoha fly into the air." .... Kurama strongly gasp.**

**Sasuke just nodded: "But only to the Chunin exams" ....words spoken Kurama calm him down, because he was sure Kurama in order to be able to do this.**

**"I'll wait until then?" ..... Naruto laughed and walked away into the sunset, in the darkness.**

**Sasuke remained seated on the bank of the river, lonely and sad. "Naruto, for God's sake!" .... the tears rolling down his face:"So this is the feeling that you had when I went to Orochimaru. Damn, this pain is too strong."**

**"Sasuke, where is Naruto?" ....to his ear came a familiar voice.**

**Sasuke turned to the voice, looking blankly at the person in front of him:"** **Who are you?" ....he asked: "I do not know you!"**

**" I am jonin of Konoha, my name is Hatake Kakashi.".....receive a response.**

**" Why are you interested in the him?"....Sasuke wanted to gain time to Naruto's succeeds in his plan.**

**After a while of silence heard a voice :" Naruto is a member of our village, of course I'm worried about him." ..... Kakashi calmly answered Sasuke.**

**" Why now? Where were you before? Naruto does not have any friends. He grew up without any help except the third Hokage! "..... tears ran down his face: "He is just a child like me!"......in him is collected rage:"** **Do not fuck with me, because you lie like everyone in this village. I do not believe you." .... Sasuke deliberately provoked Kakashi:"As for me this whole village can go to hell!".**

 **Kakashi could not believe how much the boy had a hatred for the village, "Why? His behavior is not normal , as he is much older. ".... Kakashi thought to himself:"** **Why are you so hate the village where are you?" .... Kakashi is trying to find out the reason for his hatred thinking to himself :** **"Okay, he's the only member of the Uchiha clan, he has seen and survived the massacre of his clan who committed Itachi, his brother. It is expected to be to hate his brother, but why the village? There is no reason to hate the village that helped him ....m** **aybe he accidentally knew something more .... . ".... Kakashi frowned," Something stinks in here? "**

 **On this question, Sasuke did not answer but again went on the offensive:"** **Mister, Kakashi who were the parents of Naruto?" .... suddenly Sasuke said.**

 **" I do not know, he was found in the village after the attack nine tails seven years ago . Third Hokage has taken care of him.** **" ..... reply.**

**" Naruto.... Naruto .... because of your lies and hatred towards him from the whole village went underground. Bloody hell, where have you been before? It's too late! He went underground. Naruto went to sign in the Root. Konoha is the darkest place in the world. None of the adults is not on his side, and the kids hate him. The whole world can go to hell, for all I care"....his voice broke: "Now you are all free of Naruto. I hope you're happy now. Ah, you worry about him, because he's nine tails, and not because he was a child and a human being." .... Sasuke gasp: "You are all the same, shinobi who follow certain rules. I hate you all! " "....he turned away from Kakashi and raised his hand to catch the last sunlight glare in the sky and he said:" Stay safe!"... with a view of the dark black night.**

**"From where you know that he carries nine tails?"....Kakashi again remain surprised.**

**"I'm not blind or deaf. People in the village say silently, the hatred manifested towards him is enough to draw conclusions. They called him beast, fox but the only conclusion is that he carries with him a beast. The people in the village can breathe easier as they got rid of the beast. ha ha ha, now you're satisfied! ".... he picked up and moved away from Kakashi .**

**Sasuke is gone, and Kakashi has remained in place, unable to move. His eyes were empty. The river bubbled quietly until darkness fell and enveloped the village in the dark veil.**

**His mind stopped working for a moment, dropped the last breath from his lungs and suddenly felt anxiety and fear. Blue eyes full of life come to him in his mind: "Kakashi, do not forget!" ..... he heard the voice of Naruto.**

**"Do not forget ! What....."......  his mind wakes up to these words and began to think.**

 

 


	16. ONSET

**The memories come back for two years when he first talked to Naruto.**

 

**Kakashi was walking lazily around the village and in his hand he held Icha Icha book. He has just completed its mission. Looking at the sky, he decided to have a few hours before dark. He shrugged his shoulders and kept walking, enjoying the silence.**

**As he walked along the river watching is an eye that was happening around him. His glance caught the boy sitting alone on the pier looking at the river. He recognized the boy. The boy belonged to the Uchiha clan and was the younger brother of Itachi who had been with him for some time in Anbu.**

**The boy was an orphan. It's sad to think about his case.**

**Being present during the massacre of the entire clan and his parents at the hands of his brother, Kakashi paused for a moment as he looked at the boy: "I hope you'll be fine!" ..... he said softly under his breath.**

****

**Walking slowly toward his apartment, he saw a child with blond hair who was sitting just on the bench in an empty park. Two women who were standing near Kakashi are whispering.**  
**"He is there again." ....**

 **"Ah, child of which is forbidden to speak." .... another woman said.**  
**"He always sits there at this time of day. Alone, of course." ......**

 **Kakashi them just looked confused as they whispered.**  
**Women are shortly thereafter walked holding their children's hands.**  
**Kakashi did not know why he approached the boy and he spoke to him: "Why do not you go home? It's getting late!"**

**The boy jumped to his voice, and he stood frozen on the bench watching with the fear in him.**

**Seeing his reaction, Kakashi said softly: "Hey, kid. I will not hurt you."**

**His soft voice is acted on the boy and he was relax: "Just a little bit I'll stay here." .... the boy said quietly.**  
**Even Kakashi could not see, he knew the boy was smiling but Kakashi was confused with nice, big blue eyes for a moment staring at him.**

**Kakashi has studied the boy who was lean, tanned and small for his age. The boy looked at the sun and the setting on the horizon as his eyes glistened as he was fascinated.**

**"What are you doing here, eight so late. No more kids in the park?" .... Kakashi continued to talk, because a boy suddenly becomes interesting.**  
**"Who, me?" .... heard the excited voice.**

**"Who else?" .... Kakashi accepted the boy's game.**

**The boy shrugged and said, still looking at the sun, "I love to watch the sunset."**

**"Why? Sunset is a bit sad. ".... Kakashi wanted to hear the boy's response.**

**"Sad? Sunset is sad! Why?" .... boy turned at him in amazement.**

**"Sunset tells us that the day ended and there are no more games." .... Kakashi answered as he first thought of that surprised the boy's question.**

**"Yeah, I guess. But it also tells us that a new day is coming, no?" .... the boy is again looking toward the horizon.**

**Kakashi stared at the back of the boy, and he was wondering if anyone else thinks about sunset as this boy. Such optimism. Such innocence. The boy continued to stare until the last rays on the horizon disappeared.**

**"Sir?" ..... boy said.**

**"Hmmm?" ..... Kakashi was still thoughtful.**

**"Just a little more, okay?" ...... boy's voice was soft.**

**"All right." .... Kakashi lowered his hand and he tangle boy's hair.**

**Although Kakashi could not see the boy's face he knew that the boy smiled: "Arigato!" .... reach him quiet voice.**

**"Domo!" ...... then he continued by asking the boy: "Your family will not be worried about where you been?"**

**The boy looked down at the earth and the wistfully said: "Family? House? .... I'm sorry but I have no family, I live alone .....People say that I am the beast, that'm an evil and dangerous, and that is the reason why my parents left me. I do not understand what they are talking about. I know evil is bad .... maybe I sometimes evil, but not always! Sir, can you say why I am guilty, what is my fault ..... " .......Kakashi was speechless while he watched the boy's eyes ..... looked up at to him full of determination, he raise to his feet and turned toward the horizon catching hand last gleam on the horizon: "One day I'm gonna be Hokage and the village will be my family ....."**

**The sky on the horizon was dark red and the whole sky was lit up for a moment before they sink into the darkness. The picture appeared in front of Kakashi left him speechless. Behind the boy stood Minato Namikaze the fourth Hokage holding shoulder of the boy. Transparent silhouette turned to him and he saw the smile and blue eyes, the same as the boys.**

**All his suspicions were confirmed, "Hey, kid! May I ask your name?"**

**"My name?" .... for a moment there was silence**  
**"Hey, kid. We do not have all day. What's your name?"....asked him with a whisper.**

**"My name is .....Naruto Uzumaki!"......boy cried aloud, and began to run away from him.**

**When the boy started to run away, Kakashi ran after him, blocked his way and kneeled down to face him:" Naruto, why are you running away from me?"**

**Naruto's eyes widened in shock:"You-you know… who I am?"**

**Kakashi smiled: "When I saw that mop of blonde hair… I had my suspicions…"**

**"But… but you… you talked to me!".....the boy was totally confused.**

**"Mhmm… I did.".....Kakashi smiled.**

**"But why?".....boy wanted to know.**

**"Because I wanted to." .....Kakashi had a mischievous smile.**

**"Don't you-hate me too?"......boy turns away from his eyes.**

**"Naruto. I don't hate you and my name is Kakashi Hatake. "......when Naruto heard honest voice he jumped and hugged Kakashi.**

**"This kid is hyper!"..... thought Kakashi:" Even though he knows and feels the entire villagers hatred, fear and anger towards him… he still manages to smile… not to mention, make me smile."**

**"Oi, kid. Do you want to eat dinner?".....Kakashi asked.**

**"Your treat?".....Naruto smiled:"Sure! I want to eat in Ichiraku, Kakashi san! I love ramen!"..... he shouted.**

**"Naruto!" .... he thought of the blue eyes like the sky and the bright smile that occasionally saw when he came back from his difficult mission: "Damn, I was unable to protect that smile that made me so many times back to life. ......Root..... Minato sensei I'm sorry, another one of my failed mission .....but this failed mission ...."....he felt a sharp pain in the chest:" Hurts! It hurts more than any so far!"**

 

**Since that day, no trace of Naruto. The next day Sasuke came to class. He was sitting by the window, looking pensive. Iruka sensei called him, but he has not heard.**

**Iruka Senpai came up to him and touched him on the shoulder: "Sasuke, where is he? Naruto, where is he?" .... his voice was concerned.**

**"Iruka Senpai why you got worried voice. No one, absolutely no one paid any attention on him. The whole village hates him, and he is only a child of seven years. Iruka sensei, you were alone and without parents grew up but you had friends.....I'm the same but he's ... he's all alone, how do you think the child to live all alone? Without parents, friends totally rejected by all.**

**If I were in his place, the whole Konoha would be destroyed. You know what I mean. Ask Kakashi and the third Hokage, you might find out "... he did not say anything more, and in the classroom has emerged murmur.**

**"Sasuke what are you talking about? "...... Iruka sensei is suddenly yelled.**

**"What Iruka senpai? Who is to blame for this kind of my thinking? You may now blame me!" .... Sasuke yelled loudly: "He's a kid like me. You grew up caring only for themselves. Someone who is not guilty of anything, child, accused by adults. I hate you all in order." ....Iruka was shocked.**

**Iruka senpai said, trembling voice: "Teaching is over for today!" .... and he thought, "What have I done!"**

**In the office of the third Hokage was Kakashi.**

**Iruka sensei entered the office in a panic: "Naruto, where is Naruto?" ..... asked a panicked voice: "It's my fault! I do not hate him but I can not forget the nine tails, and my parents, I do not hate Naruto!" ..... he was visibly shaken.**

**"Why? Naruto ...! ..." .... third Hokage was shocked when Kakashi relayed the news.**

**Kakashi did not immediately said third Hokage news but waited until morning. During that time, his thoughts were in chaos.**

**The two men looked in the direction of the Hokage, whose face became grim almost unrecognizable: "Damn Naruto, Kushina I'm sorry .... I, at the end missed, because I did not protect him, Minato .... I have not fulfilled my promise ....... my promise that I made to you while you were dying ..... I am not worthy of the title Hokage. "..... in front of them was an old man completely broken by grief and remorse.**

**Iruka was struck by his words when he heard of the names of Minato and Kushina.**

**"For God's sake, Naruto is their son. Blond hair, blue eyes and last name Uzumaki. Everything was in front of me. What thought Third Hokage when he hid the truth of all as. Root, Danzo Shimura, the worst option."..... after deep reflection he said:" Third Hokage, you had the best intentions, but it is obvious that you are just a human being like all of us. We all make mistakes! ".....**   **Iruka went to the Third Hokage: "All that you have done, you have made in the interest of the village." ... he tried to calm him, but only the more challenged his remorse.**

 **"Iruka, you do not know everything. I've done everything in my power then, I thought that the best way to protect him if I hide his real name, but that was wrong, because they are all in him watch nine-tails. I knew, and I did not do anything about it. ".... the old man with a caustic voice spoke:"**   **Protect their child that carries the beast, nine tails, the child for which they gave their lives, as well as protect Konoha.**

 **They died in the full belief that Naruto will not fail to master the beast, and all that they have done, they have done for the benefit of the village and the welfare of his son, Naruto. With his last breath gave me their child on the trust. I did not save him! I was not able to even save Uciha clan!** **Please go, because I want to be alone. "...... he looked at them with misty eyes.**

**Kakashi and Iruka went together out of the office. They went out, saying nothing until they came to the bench and sat down.  
**

**"I am completely betrayed the trust given to me by the third Hokage. I did not know anything about him, I did not know how to approach him, I closed my heart for him." ..... Iruka lowered his head to his knees.**

**"Iruka's not your fault, Konoha has too many secrets. I think as far as Naruto, that we are all to blame. Third Hokage is just trying to protect Naruto, to conceal his identity, because Minato has gained a lot of enemies for life. I was closest to them, and I did not do anything for him. ".....Kakshi feel fatigue and took a deep breath.**

**I could not save anyone, Obito, Rin, Itachi and Naruto now. You're not guilty Iruka, we are all wrong! "...... he said quietly and put his hand on his back:" If his parents believed in him and I believe also. He will return to us, at least I have that feeling. When this happens, I hope you'll be with him Iruka, as I do. "**

**Kakashi has all the time in the subconscious thought of something. Finally he decided. After parting with Iruka went to the office of the third Hokage.**

**"Can I teach Sasuke!" ..... he asked without hesitation and remain wide-eyed when he saw a smile on face third Hokage.**

**"That is what I am about to ask you!" ..... smiled Third Hokage.**

**"Something happened?" .... Kakashi asked quietly confused by changing his mood.**

**"Something happened .... yea ... I still can not believe it!" .... in his hand was a letter:"** **Wait until comes Iruka." ...... he said.**

**"Iruka quickly came to the office and the third Hokage made barriers:" This is just for your ears! "**

**"Iruka you read this letter." ..... Hokage said, and he handed him the letter.**

**Iruka was confused .... he came up to him and took the letter. At the end of the letter he read Naruto. He looked at the Hokage with surprise, while his hands were trembling slightly.**

 

**_"Old man, you do not worry about me. I will survive! I have only one request. I've heard the name of Kakashi Hatake Sharingan. Ninja genius. The old man, please let him learn Sasuke everything he knows. Iruka sensei  do not feeling guilty for this my action. You might find all this to be strange, but please believe me. This is my mission. Old man, I know you can do it, please watch my back. Naruto_ "..... no one could get to himself.**

 

**Iruka is constantly reading the letter in disbelief.**

**Kakashi has also been confused and speechless:" Third Hokage, this is suspicious. Naruto has not gone to the academy. ".**

**"He's actually the son of his parents!" ..... he whispered: "I do not know what is in his mind, but I decided to trust him. It's really written by Naruto. What is even stranger I felt chakra of nine tails. If the two of them in some kind of connection everything possible. Minato was expecting something like that, i hope. The whole time, I have no control of him and I can not know everything about him.** "

**"Third Hokage he knows nothing about the organization Root." .. Iruka was rightly concerned.**

**"Danzo Shimura not kill Naruto. I told him clearly that I know that Naruto with him. I warned him that if he made anything Naruto, or that it in any way hurt him, I'll kill him." ...... his eyes glittered ominously ..**

**"Ma ma Third Hokage, killing is my business!" ..... Kakashi said, and clenched his fists: "Naruto be careful" ........ his thoughts were passing images Minato and Kushina: "I do not know what he intends, this is all somehow suspicious but for now I believe he knows what he's doing. Something else in the game! "**

**"I'm afraid that Naruto would become a killer without feeling!" ..... Iruka whispered.**

**"Very strong possibility, but Naruto is vivid. He does not know Naruto." .... third Hokage sighed: "Konoha will be dull without him. We need a fresh head. His mission ..... hiding something bigger and much deeper. I do not know what but ..... we have to figure out what is hidden beneath hidden. Kakashi watch Sasuke  carefully. The two of them are together in this mission. "**

**"How do you know?" ..... Kakashi looked confused Hokage.**

**"Naruto and Sasuke never been close but suddenly protect each other. Sasuke is deeply connected with Naruto .... how .... why .... we need to discover and explore. Tomorrow I will call a meeting where we will decide our steps and procedures. Some secrets will have to be discovered. "..... Sarutobi sensei smiled.**

**No one knows that Naruto carries a seal that removes all remaining seals. When Naruto touches someone who used seal Uzumaki clan can be undone. Knowing that he carries such a seal, Naruto entered the organization Root.**


	17. KICKOFF

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Naruto why?" .....he wanted to know the thinking of boys.

* * *

**NARUTO ROOT**

 

**Root carries out missions that Danzō believes will benefit Konoha. Because of its core views as "the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth",The organisation's top priority is its secrecy, and most of its missions are carried out in the dark - autonomous of Konoha's authority.**

**Danzo was initially a little surprised when to him approached Naruto and he did not know what was going on, because Naruto was the whole time under the control of the third Hokage.**

**"He is still a child. With him, I can do a good job. Nine Tails will be under my control, finally. But I can not go against the third Hokage for now. He's dangerous, and Kakashi is on his side. I have to be careful.". .... he shook his head to ward off negative thoughts.**

**"Naruto why?" ..... he wanted to know the thinking of boys.**

**"I hate people in Konoha. I can not stand the cold of their views and gossip behind my back. I will not have them watch and listen to all day. I want to become a powerful ninja. Maybe I , at the end become known for the destruction of Konoha." ..... . Danzo was stunned with hatred coming from him.**

**"Hey brat, beautiful show!" ..... Kurama snorted with satisfaction: "Looks like you've had a very good teacher."**

**"Take care of me!" ..... he laughed softly to himself and said."It seems to me you got my back, It's nice that you're next to me, You're a true friend, You're here till the end, I ... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship! Kurama, thank you! ""**

**"Child, I mean that I love you more and more." .... he makes grin and waved with one ear.**

**Thank you, Minato and Kushina! For the first time, my purpose of existence is real, kami sent me this boy! ( ありがとうございます! ) Arigatou gozaimasu!"**

**Danzo thought: "Hate is a good thing, I can manipulate with him, he does not need brainwashing I only have to focus his hatred, on the other side."**

**If I want him on my side, probably the best approach would be that he become my disciple, I can not act brutally with him. "...... after a time of deep reflection he decided to change tactics with Naruto." Okay Naruto, you will be with me as my disciple, but you have to be ready for hard work. "..... he stretched out his hand and his fingers cross over his blond hair:" Hard work Naruto.** "

**When he saw that he approached his hand, he was trying to move away but gathered all his strength and remains in place with a beautiful smile: "It means that I can become a strong shinobi. Yas!" .... Naruto on his face made grin .**

**"Oh, man, he's not a good actor. His smile is creepy." ..... he felt the chill down his spine: "In any case, I think I'm the one hand made a good choice. While I was at the academy I've never learned anything.**

**Kakashi has always been with Sasuke, and from him I did not learn a lot. No one wanted to deal with me, everyone else had the teachers and parents who were shinobi, so they transfer knowledge. I think it will be better now. What do you think Kurama? "**

**"Brat, I think you're right. You have a personal teacher who is creepy and slimy. Who knows what you're going to learn from him all!" ..... he said.**

**Danzo explained some things: "Later you'll meet the others. In the beginning you will be separated from them until you gain certain conditions to join them. You have to start from the very beginning and I will guide you every step. You will not have free a lot of time, because I think that I can convey to you some knowledge. You're not stupid. When you gain certain conditions, you'll be able to join them and be with them, but you'll also have lessons with me. "**

**Naruto was thinking: "I do not understand, how he accepted me so quickly. I have a feeling that he does not hate me like the others. A strange feeling Kurama."**

**"Now you said it's a little strange. We'll see how things go." .... Kurama said.**

**Naruto had to undergo training that is physically and psychologically a difficult and demanding, Run of 3 miles in less than 28 minutes, 50 or more crunches in 2 minutes and 4 pull ups for males and females do arm hang for more than 30 seconds to earn the minimum score.**

**For a maximum score, male recruits must complete the run in 18 minutes, perform 100 crunches in 2 minutes, and do 20 pull ups.**

**An average day usually began before sunrise. After personal hygiene and cleaning in the morning, performed physical training from Monday to Saturday.**

**Every day he wore another task. For two days he was taught. The second day was chosen for the study of martial arts or exercise with a variety of weapons. After the noon meal, training continues until dinner.**

**After this time, it was time for hygiene, cleaning weapons and cleaning the barracks where they were staying. The time after that, personally the time where you engage in personal activities, such as preparing uniforms or equipment or laundry.**

**Naruto was separated from all and not one saw exactly how to him explained Danzo. His chamber was separated from Danzo but was right next to his. Danzo was his personal teacher but helped someone else. Who was that Naruto never knew, because he was in disguise. He knew and felt that this person is dangerous, very dangerous.**

**Naruto could not long forget the coldest, wicked green eyes he had ever seen. He stared at him like a wolf whose first and foremost wish was that his tears out all his limbs.**

**It did not take long to realize that discipline and learning a very important factor in the survival of the area that was unknown. Responding to orders under stress was an important fact that she later in the fight between success and failure, life and death was a crucial fact.**

**As Naruto was still a child, of course, that he could not fulfill even the eighth of their tasks. It took three years of hard work, learning to fulfill all the conditions and become a full member. In those three years, he completely forgot who he was.**

**Danzo was a teacher from hell. For all the mistakes that he made there was a penalty, exercising to exhaustion. Kurama was spending a large amount of chakra to keep him alive. **Danzo could not believe how Naruto is progressing day by day, he is not never heard that he complains.** **Of course he did not hear that Naruto complains about anything, because Naruto had only one goal. Survive, because exercise has been life threatening. Initially, the exercises were in the form of running, walking to exhaustion with minimal food and small amounts of liquids. Sleep is also been minimal, just a few hours.****

**Three months spent in this type of exercise.**

**This was followed by the exercise of climbing, skipping over all kinds of obstacles and avoidance of the set of movable barriers. Injuries were frequent and very serious but Naruto did not give up. Kurama could not believe what he can endure all. He was always awake and there when Naruto felt the worst.**

**These exercises are also lasted about three months.**

**Narutov mind was empty. Feelings were reduced to non-existence. Pain, hunger is not at all felt, he was in the empty space.**

**Time for him did not exist, night, day, week, month, year everything is erased from his life. Exercise, exercise, here and there on the way to talk with some members who came into contact with the Danzo but never saw their faces.**

**His body was moving slowly, quickly without any excess movements. He became a robot with no feelings. He did not talk to anybody except with Kurama in the back of his mind. He was silent.**

**After six months performed the slack. One week he was free without any exercise. As his body accustomed to exercise, he continued to practice but each time it stopped Danzo. His mind began to emerge from waking up from the frozen state. He began to speak out loud, he addressed the things around him.**

**If he had been listening to the side you would have thought he lost it and went crazy. Danzo was with him was able to try some things that were not normal at all, Naruto is trained to the limits of exhaustion. His body has changed. Muscle was rock-solid.**

**Danzo there began slowly change. "I have the opportunity, my pupil overcome all ninja in strength and techniques. My disciple ...." .... that he paused: "Am I crazy? What am I thinking?" ..... he was confused, " For god's sake, I need nine tails, not him!" ...... as soon as he began to wonder what that's going on, he is already lost.**

**Naruto got under his skin.**

**After a week of rest and recuperation he began to learn about the various types of weapons used in the world of ninja. The next six months was a combination of exercise first six months but now combined with all kinds of weapons.**

**During those six months nothing was easier and simpler than the first six, you might have even been difficult and very dangerous to life, because in circulation was a weapon. After a year he was a ninja with a wide range of knowledge and use of weapons.**

**Another year has passed in learning and acquiring the matter and u** **nderstanding the concepts, tasks and learning about current events in the world of ninja was his toughest nightmare with a combination of the first year.**

**That year he spent with Danzo in mastering various martial arts with the use of weapons and he showed him the various types of seals used in ninja world.**

**He forgot about the outside world, not thinking about Sasuke and others. He was so tired that he did not have the strength to think, but he was happy. He felt that his body is growing stronger and that his stamina increases. With his fingers he could quickly run signs for various types of seals.**

**At the end of the second year he joined the other members who were in the Root.** **Sparring struggle were simply real fighting, the injuries were severe and life-threatening.**

**Kurama was treating his injuries.**

**He was pleased with the progress of his Jinchuriki, he could not believe how big a difference now than before:"Brat, when you get back in the normal world no one you will not recognize it! You are now completely different."**

**At the beginning of the third year he he chose katana as his personal weapon which is not surprising, because it is in a parallel world adopted the technique of his clan.**

**Naruto initially always had the same dream.**

 

_**"I am sorry Jii san but i can't take it anymore"...he cried out in his dream,staring up at the old man at his desk,in the familiar room.Although ** the **room was indistinct, seemingly immaterial as the boy could not remember the details, the Hokage was almost as perfect , the large red and white hat perched perfectly atop his head, the old, yet kindly face watching him, a pipe held in one gnarled hand as the man smiled down at him.**_

_**The old man had been one of the very few people who had always been kind to him. When he had been sad and alone, the man had taken the time to come down from his lofty office to his dingy apartment to visit him, even though he was the leader of their village.** _

_**The old man had always smiled kindly, laughed at the young boys eager jokes, even at some of the pranks the child had pulled. He also took the boy out at times, talking the child to the Ichiraku Ramen stand, his favorite place in the whole world. The old man was like family to him, the only family he had ever had.** _

_**"I promise I'll come back! I''ll becomereally strong, and I'll come back. I won't give up on my dream to become the protector of the village. I promise!"** _

 

**"Dream!" ..... Old man I'm sorry but this is what I had to do. "....and then in his mind make an appointment for a word out of his sleep: "I did not say the Hokage, but the patron of the village.  Well, why is this a word?".....but for now there was no time to think.**

**Final testing of the training is the culmination of all the skills and knowledge they have gained. They are trained to perform the independent mission without help. The mission was a priority, regardless of the victim. Teamwork was very little.**

**Teamwork techniques exist: for example, in order to scale a wall, a group of ninja may carry each other on their backs, or provide a human platform to assist an individual in reaching greater heights.**

**Wind Release is one of the five basic elemental nature transformations that Naruto possessed. Wind-nature chakra can also be Channelled into blades to increase their cutting power and overall range. Cooperation is ninjutsu techniques where two or more existing techniques are combined to produce a much more powerful one. When initiated with the right timing, one will feed into each other to become a technique of power greater than the sum of its parts.**

**Naruto was able to combine wind and water but with certain types of seals could be used fire.**

**Naruto is with Danzo practicing Kenjutsu.**

**Taijutsu is a basic discipline in Root in sparring and Naruto it very well learned.**

**But all he had learned, he learned without the shadow clone techniques that he had to hide.**

**Naruto after long six years he was able to stand without sleep for a long time. It took only four hours a week to reach the dream that his body back to full operation. He was able to run and walk in one piece, more than 200 miles, and the physical training he could spend more than 20 hours a day.**

**Danzo could not believe how Naruto progressed. Every day he had before his eyes and finally he looked prodigy.**

****Final testing of the training is the culmination of all the skills and knowledge they have gained. They are trained to perform the independent mission without help. The mission was a priority, regardless of the victim. Teamwork was very little.** **

**Naruto changed. He was not the one Naruto who was in the future to thirteen. He looked much stronger, was higher and more beautiful than before.**

**Blue eyes have become serious, but maintained the same shine as before. His hair was falling out in clumps to the middle of the back.**

**Dark path suited to someone that is hours, days, months and years spent in strenuous exercise in the sun, rain and snow. The body was in perfect proportions. The mind is perfectly functioning.**

**Kurama was impressed with him and he did not believe that this Naruto, Naruto in his future.**

**Kurama was a great support to Naruto. Without him, Naruto would have long since lost his mind. They were always in touch. He was never alone. Never for a moment did not lose from the road to become a powerful ninja .**


	18. STARTER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With open eyes watched the dancing devil on fire.

**The sword could also be laid against the wall, where the ninja could use the sword guard tsuba to gain a higher foothold. The katana could even be used as a device to stun enemies before attacking them, by putting a combination of red pepper, dirt or dust, and iron filings into the area near the top of the scabbard, so that as the sword was drawn the concoction would fly into the enemy's eyes, stunning him until a lethal blow could be made.**

 

**Only at the end of the fifth year Naruto is going on assignments, solo mission that is directly received from Danzo.**

**The initial mission was very simple, delivering messages, invisible movement on the field, forest or countryside. With him was always someone gave him instructions. Slowly, the mission became more difficult and demanding, but still did not go alone. Members of the root organization that would go with him he would always learn something new. They realized that he learns really fast and knowledge is acquired.**

**"Danzo, what are you trying to do with him?" .... they were asked and they to him were not at all jealous nor envious, because they knew that his training is not at all easy nor simple.**

**Sometimes they caught a nice smile on his face that did not exist in the presence of Danzo.**

**There was a mission for a long time, he had to go alone. With this mission Danzo wanted to try Naruto. Other members of the Root looked at him surreptitiously. They knew it was a test for Naruto and that will not be an easy mission. Danzo has decided to send observers to follow him from a distance.**

**He chose the Terai. Terai was trained to do no emotion after the brutal procedures conducted by Danzo to his protégés in order to accomplish a specific task to the end.**

**He was a devoted follower of Danzo and he followed all the instructions without question. But he was delighted to be able to follow Naruto, because all the members are loving him, and they wanted to protect him from Danzo.**

**He was the youngest member among them, who showed them some things that they could not learn by Danzo. Danzo has received credible information that there is a possibility that they will be attacked Konoha.**

**A group of about a hundred missing ninja from various villages under the control of Orochimaru had a secret hideout in the village of Tonica, a village located on the edge of the limits of the Land of Fire.**

**His mission was complete destruction of the group**.

**Everyone thought that Danzo wants to him solve, because the mission was impossible to perform.**

**Meanwhile, the third Hokage got that same message. Hokage and Danzo were of the same thinking, the destruction of the group and on the task is sent Hatake Kakashi, Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi.**

**Naruto realized that this mission was the final part of the exam, and decided that he will not make mistakes. Reflecting on his time spent with Danzo, he concluded that the time spent with him was not so bad.**

**He really invested their knowledge transfer to Naruto, even when the fixed idea was to take control of nine tails and to take advantage of him that he rules with Konoha. He did not use any seals on Naruto and not trying to put his mind under control. Naruto is well invested effort to show him that he can believe in him, but Naruto also had a hidden fix ideas.**

**If Naruto was in a hurry, he is well-examining the ground around him. With the help of Kurama grabbed the chakra of the Terai who followed him, and he laughed. "Danzo does not miss any chances. I wonder if he ever has a good sleep."**

**Naruto felt also that him follows more people.**

**He decided it was time to use the art of stealth and invisibility. His chakra disappears and Terai remains confused. He then used the technique of walking in order to avoid the creation of sound with the use of breath control.**

**"Where is he? It's impossible to have lost all trace of him." ...... Terai wondered: "What kind of exercise Danzo do with him?"**

**Kakashi felt the chakra of the three, and he gave a hand signal to others, to hide their chakras and that they keep a low profile. Chakra of Naruto he had not felt since he was away from them, but Naruto is felt them with the help of Kurama.**

**They stood in the way and are lying low, waiting for them to pass the Terai. When he moved away from them, they continued their journey by maintaining the distance between them.**

**"Damn what doing Root in this region." ..... Asuma asked.**

**"Maybe they got the same job as we!" .... said Kurenai.**

**"I do not know what Danzo thoughts, but this is not a task that can be performed by one person.**   **It is impossible for one man to carry out this mission."** **..... Kakashi to join the conversation.**

**Naruto is listening to the conversation, and he thought for a moment: "Danzo is a very capable man. It took me a long time that I realized that this man everything he taught me, taught me to survive. None of the difficult situation was not without output. My ability to evaluate the situation, to understand the opponent, that from his actions that he will make it turn in my favor.**

**My defense against his incoming attacks. The ability to neutralize the effect of his attacks aimed at me, but also to take advantage of his attacks against them.**

**How to throw him off balance in a manner which prevents competition to carry out its strategy and literally put it in a position of weakness. Actual counterattack to take his attack to throw him out of balance or that I throw him to the ground. This is the stage where I, I dare to fight directly.**

**My ability to assess the impact that my technique have any effect on my opponent and know beforehand what my next move (escape, restrain him, or prepare for another barrage of attacks) should be.**

**In my attempt to learn how to really be successful for themselves and others in defense, I was lucky enough to find a teacher who showed me the way to find the answers I did not know before. "**

**I was very glad to see them after a long time, but I have a mission I have to accomplish at all costs and to convince Danzo in my loyalty to him. I only have a year to reflect on my last assignment in the organization Root.**

**Danzo has become more moderate and stopped the fight to death between members of Root. Sai and Shin were ok. Although a lot of time together had never crossed lines of better understanding between them, or create derivative kind of friendship. Each of them was an independent person.**

**Naruto had learned to hide emotions keeping in mind his ultimate goal. In very rare occasions he had a smile on his face but it is hidden from others.**

**He managed to create two Naruto.**

**"Brat, Do not worry, this is the only option to save your mind." ...... Kurama told him that at the end of the second year when Naruto was mentally weak.**

**As there were two Kurama, light and dark, so they created two Naruto, dark and light, good and bad.**

**They were nearing the mission area.**

**Naruto used Shadow Clone Technique and made four Naruta to monitor each of the participants.**

**"It is time to start the mission!" ..... his eyes take on a reddish glow and become the eyes of the beast.**

**He waited for night to fall by the way, watching what was going on in the camp of the enemy. In the middle of the camp is burning big fire and illuminated the wide area.**

**It was only a few guards around the camp, while others entertained and drunk. Apparently they did not expect any surprises. Naruto did not wait a moment longer.**

**Naruto use the Sexy Technique and create beautiful and good-looking woman who was wearing a devil costume. Naruto realized that more men fell to the seductive women who are partially concealed parts of the body.**

**It was challenging and gave away the appearance of bad girls. Terai, Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai were blocked and could not go on any action. They can only observe what is happening, except Terai, who was unconscious. Naruto clons simultaneously kicked Senbon, metal pins which are focused on the main points of the spine, and now they were paralyzed.**

**A beautiful woman with long blond hair in ponytails, with beautiful blue eyes, dressed in a devil's outfit came to the camp where they were enemies. The moment is created clamor and noise, a mess. Naruto come into play in the form of black shadows.**

**Dressed in tight black pants and a black sweater, sleeveless with a katana in hand. He wore a black mask. Under the glow of the fire gleaming blond hair in a ponytail. Chakra with a strong hatred and anger spread to the entire area. She was so strong that the enemy remained nailed in place.**

**The** **feeling of fear went through their bodies. Naruto and Katana become one flesh. He's like a tornado swept through the camp. Katana is flashed in all directions and cut everything in sight.**

**The glow of fire bounced off the of the katana blade, creating a reddish reflection that turned into a strip as it moved through the camp. Before their eyes creating the living spider web.**

**The speed with which he moved was breathtaking. The blade of the katana which was carving the air creating is whiz who looks like a howling wind.**

**Kakashi was fascinated, he was aware that they are watching something perfect, his mind could not fathom that it could be achieved in such precision and speed, but,** **he was more surprised by a master who was holding a katana.**

**His bounce, somersault in the air, katana is equally been in operation with both hands, the movements were perfect, not made even one mistake, the master with a deadly katana was moving like a cat that catches the prey.**

**Ease, grace of movement resembled more to dance. In this case it was a dance of death. The enemy was not even aware of what's going on with them. In an instant they died. Less than twenty minutes, the enemy is defeated.**

**The masked man did not use any technique, but the pure skill of someone who has perfected the fight with a katana.**

**He shook blood with of the katana blade and returned is to its sheath, and then used the Enclosing Technique. Using this technique, a wide variety of items, and even living beings may have been stored in rolls.**

**The battlefield is left blank, and then he lit a scroll. They were shocked by his behavior.**

**A man in a black tight clothes with a black mask on his face turned toward them and he them began to slowly approach. They feel fear, they wanted to escape from that place but could not. Only they could see how they are approaching a black shadow. From the slot black masks, which should have been eyes, they watched blood red eyes, eyes that were not human.**

**The tension of their muscles reached the border, fear that they felt became unbearable, they closed eyes, expecting the last blow that never came.**

**Shortly before them stood a young man without a mask on his face. Blue eyes bright and sparkling stared at Kakashi.**

**"I'm sorry Kakashi, this is my mission!" .... voice they heard was soft, a little deep but reassuring.**

**With invisible movement, the movement of the wind he pulled a metal needle from their body: "You are free! Kakashi say hai Third Hokage and greet Sasuke for me. Tell him it's all right how much can be. Soon I'll contact him. I'm sorry!" ..... turned somewhat sad look of them and disappears in front their eyes. "**

**"I think we saw tonight illusion. We had the privilege to watch the dancing devil on fire. Singing of the katana was is sound that I will not easily forget. "..... Asuma sighed.**

**"Red bloodshot eyes, the eyes of the beast from hell. Is he even human?" .... shuddered Kurenai.**

**"He is a man, a young man. I can not forget his body movement. I've never seen anything like it." ..... Kakashi thought, "He knows me, blond hair, blue eyes. " ...... knowledge is pulled out of him a slight scream " For God's sake, this is Naruto ".... Kakashi yelled and he took a deep breath." Naruto! You're still alive! "...... Kakashi breathed," Kami, thank you for allowing me to see him. ".... he felt alive.**

**"Kakashi, do not tell me you're talking about Naruto's, the loud boy who worked mess in the village. You're talking about a boy who joined the organization Root five years ago." .... Asuma is now excited.**

**"Yes, Asuma about a boy that we all leave!" ..... he suddenly sad: "Yes, Asuma, I'm talking about the son of Minato and Kushina who rescued us, to whom we owe our lives. That boy Asuma, the boy is their son. Minatov son now belongs to the Root probably what ever he did not want that to happen to his son.**

**He is the holder of nine tails, and now is in the hands of Danzo. What a mistake all of us.** **Red eyes are eyes of nine tails. He is no longer an innocent boy. What a mistake? ".....Kakashi with anger banged his fist on the ground:"Minato saved me, and what I ever did for him. Nothing!** **And when I had the chance I am missed."**

**"Kakashi what are you talking about? Why mention Minato and Kushina?" .... Asuma looked at him, puzzled.**

**"Naruto, is the son of Minato. Your father is the hiding the truth from all of us. For this fact known only to a few people. Minato that he was alive, it would have killed us all."**

**Asuma could do nothing to say on that:"My father did it?" ... Asuma did not believe: "Damn!** **I'm sorry Kakashi!"....he said,**

**"Your father thought he did good things, he wanted to protect Naruto from the enemies outside, but not Naruto protect us from Konoha. Asuma, I do need to apologize. We all need to apologize to this child if he stays alive.". ...Kakashi got up on his feet, stretching the body of stiffness: "I have already decided a long time ago, when Naruto returns, I will stand by him."**

**Kurenai did not say anything, just took a deep breath: "We have to submit a report Third Hokage!"**

**They left the place and returned to Konoha.**

**Terai woke up at the end and see what Naruto do. He could not believe his eyes. In front of them was not a human being but a being from another world.**

**"Dancing beast in fire."........he thought and he was impressed by his speed.**

**"Damn Danzo what you did of Naruto? Do you want to make him master of the art of killing. I can not be the enemy to him. He is strong! It's time to report!"......h** **e leaves the site.**


	19. UNDERTAKE

**Why is Naruto was able to learn all of what he learned and why they changed in appearance?**

**As a member of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto was blessed with an especially strong life-force, granting him tremendous stamina and reserves of chakra, along with great healing powers he could survive most grievous injuries and vitality which together also granted his an extremely long potential lifespan.**

**Uzumaki members have shown to possess a strong and special form of chakra. Having been a jinchūriki for the Nine-Tails in its entirety, Naruto gained enormous reserves of equally strong chakra.**

**They were skilled in kenjutsu.**

**Naruto was alone. He was not fed properly that is food was unbalanced. It was one of the causes of the increase in his height was slowed.**

**He had no teacher advisers. His mind was not functioning fully, because he did not have challenges.**

**Exercises are almost were not any, and we know that a child learns faster than adults.**

**Danzo Shimura an extremist, preferred to directly eliminate threats through assassination and execution rather than diplomacy and negotiation. Danza possessed a fanatical and arbitrary adherence to the ideals of a shinobi, believing they must sacrifice absolutely everything for the village.**

**Danza's pursuit of peace followed an ends justifies the means .... meaning that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of achieving it is acceptable.**

**Naruto was seven, he joined a military and extreme organization.**

**After acquiring a teacher firsthand, he could learn the things he previously inaccessible.**

**Exercises were rigorous and he could keep them because of the great stamina he possessed.**

**The organization was not large and had all the conditions for progress.**

**Naruto after the first mission returned to Root and handed report :"Mission Accomplished!"**

**Danzo let him go and went Terai to describe what he saw.**

**Danzo was listening to every word, and his eyes had turned a satisfied glow: "That's my boy!"**

**The story of the dance of the beast in the fire became the main topic among members of Root. No one knew how him Danzo trains, because their exercise were behind the scenes.**

**After a few months Naruto got another mission.**

**He should go to Amegakure and collect data, because Amegakure have made the difficult isolation policy which led to the village became impenetrable.**

**To be admitted to the village, visitors, had to go through a series of security checks and under constant surveillance during their stay. Even Hanzo, despite its strength was paranoid and constantly feared he would be killed, and as such is rarely seen in public.**

**These rules do not apply to Naruto. The first time he came disguised himself as a young passenger from whom he received a pass so that it could move freely.**

**He had no problems walked through the village and take the necessary information. He was there to hear for Nagato. He decided to stay and get close to Nagato.**

**Naruto was before he went to the real mission had a different plan. Before he went to Amegakure he stopped at Howling Wolf Village to buy herbs for treatment. Different types of plants growing around the village.**

**Naruto has studied the effects of different plants. There he came into possession of Blue Fire powder which was secretly taken. By the way, he collected data on Amegakure. There he came into possession of a pass to enter the village by a young passenger who escaped from Amegakure.**

**He decided to get out of the village. When he walked away from the village returned to his character but he wore clothes that were worn in the village. He received clothes from Danzo before he set out on a mission.**

 

** NAGATO**

 

**By some miracle he did not wait long to pass and went in.**

**He walked into the bar, where usually comes Nagato and waited. He met that Nagato and Konan.**

**He sat down next to them and he pulled out a book written by Jiraiya "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi! ". While he was reading a book and enjoying the drink began to mutter under his breath.**

**The **Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi** was Jiraiya's first book, written while training the Ame orphans. It sold poorly; nobody attended Jiraiya's book signing. The story follows the adventures of a ninja named Naruto, a name Jiraiya came up with while eating ramen.  Naruto never gives up and vows to break the " _curse_ ", which represents the cycles of war, conflict, and hatred that occupies the ninja world. As this is an idea Jiraiya first heard spoken of by Nagato, the novel is dedicated to him.**

**"Nagato.... Nagato" .... Naruto muttered under his breath:" He must be an amazing person, when this story meant to him."....and keep reading:"Peace ... I do not know how to get to it but ... but one day I will break the curse of hell ...... If there is such a thing as peace ..... I'll find him. ".....here he stops pensively." Nice idea that I would like to take to the end.".....startled from his thoughts when he heard the voice of a waiter who brought him another drink.**

**He took advantage of the moment and with the hand he threw the book on the floor that fell next leg of Nagato. Nagato had heard the murmurings but he did not mean to interrupt. The person sitting next to them was to him interesting. When the book fell at his feet he ducked to pick it up. Their two hands have touched. Naruto and Nagato looked at each other for some time without saying a word.**

**Nagato had the strange feeling that had not felt since the death of Yahiko.** **Nagato was holding a book in his hand and he noticed that the whole worn out from constant reading.**

**"You love to read!" ..... he spoke to Naruto.**

**"Nop but I like to read the same book. I think it is somehow able to infiltrate in the role of the main character." .... Naruto make a grin on his face.**

**"It looks like an interesting book to read." .... Nagato looked at the title and then he saw the initials of writers." Jiraiya!"......said quietly and he was surprised.**

**"You know the writer of this book?" ..... now Naruto was surprised.**

**"Somehow!" ..... just saying and then make a gesture to hand over the book.**

**"May I ask your name?" .... Naruto asked quickly:" My name is Kurama!".......in the back of his mind he heard the moans, he laughed softly and looked into eyes of Nagato.**

**"Nagato!"......he just said, not taking his eyes from his eyes blue as clear skies.**

**"Wow, you're Nagato!" ..... Naruto was visibly excited: "The author has written this book on your idea. Look at the end of the book .... the book is dedicated to you!"**

**Nagato looked dedication and reddened in the face: "Impossible! Naruto, sit at our table. You're welcome! ".... Nagato invite him to the table and present to him Konan.**

**Naruto bowed with a sparkle in his eyes and said, "My pleasure!"**

**"Well Naruto can you tell me something about yourself?" .... Naruto felt that he became suddenly cautious.**

**"Um, I do not know how to explain it. Because in fact I am an orphan. My parents were killed in front of me." ..... Naruto paused as if thinking: "I somehow managed to escape and since then I always moving. From the age of seven, I was constantly changing place of residence and getting to know different people.**

**I've made friends of my peers but also adults. But few have survived. I hate this world, because I have friends less and less. You know this character in the book is my hero. Since I found this book it has become my light in the dusk. My parents, friends are dying like trash ... never ending hatred ... pain that never heals ..."...Naruto has used his words.**

**Nagato after a short time winced and laughed: "I like you blonde. You remind me of myself when I was a kid."**

**"Religion, ideology, resources, land, grudges, love, or just because… No matter how pathetic the reason, it's enough to start a war. War will never cease to exist… Reasons can be thought up after the fact. Human nature pursues strife. Even a foolish child can grow up in a right way, when he learns what pain is. Knowing pain controls ones thoughts and decisions.  If you kill someone, someone else will kill you… this hatred binds us together.**

**I feel pain, I think about pain, I accept pain, I know pain....Nagato but I also can stop pain. It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling; I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself.**

**First one needs to loosen up and stop the killing, the killing does not solve things only deepen and spread hate. Then I will break that curse. If there's such thing as peace, I will find it. I won't give up! "**

**Nagato was attentively listened to Naruto and he did not interrupt.**

**"I would never betray my faith and trust in the words of my close friends. There is always a chance that someone's idea of imposing, but in the end it is just an illusion.**

**Nagato your words are my light in the the darkness. By chance if you've given up on these words of your dreams .... I will certainly achieve at any cost but Nagato do not get in my way. I never go back on my word! That's my nindo: my ninja way!".......on these words Naruto disappear in front of them in a cloud of smoke while the book remained in the hands of Nagato.**

**The two of them looked confused: "Who is this boy?" ...... they went after him but he was not there.**

**It started to rain and Nagato said: "This is probably an illusion" .... special rain was connected with his senses, and he could feel the intruders who tried to enter the village, which infiltration seems impossible, because all are discovered:" But he stuck to the book in his hand."**

 

**Before he returned to the Root and gave a report on the activities **Akatsuki** carried out the mission for himself.**

**He stood upon a tree looking at the village that lay before him. He had travelled six day at top speed to get to this place and now he was at his destination The Jōmae Village.**

**This village's shinobi are experts in espionage in order to gain information for negotiations with larger, more powerful nations.**

**He leapt off the tree and spead towards the open gate only slowing down once and speeding up again to make sure that he timed his entrance perfect. He was a master of stealth, as silent as a falling feather and faster than a hawk catching its prey.**

**He approached the village his high speed and as soon as both guards turned to face different directions, he swooped in with no one the wiser. He kept uo this speed until reaching a building and hugging the shadowy areas of it.**

**"I am lucky the streets are quite busy ............he thought.**

**Naruto spotted and identified every ninja that was in the street, there was not that many, mostly civilian and genin. He slunk out of the shadows ducking and weaving between people.**

**Not even in broad daylight was he spotted. He took advantage of the natural blind spots that existed in all humans and with his stealth abilities, even a jounin would miss him.**

**A ghost, that was what he was as he bobbed and weaved in and out of people, never touching them, gathering what he needed as he went, under and outside of the range of their perception getting closer to his goal.**

**Like a shadow in the darknes he searched out his target.**

**"Hai old man!" .... old man was surprised when he felt the blade at the throat: "Do not even move!" .... heard a whisper:"I think you have something for me!"**

**"How did you do? You are quite a skilled young man to be able infiltrare in village!" ..... old man was confused.**

**"I know what you are thinking!"....said Naruto:""But there's no use for it. I did not come to start a war, but I came for information. In return, I offer Blue Fire Powder .....**

**Use of blue fire powder can significantly level the playing field, either by allowing non-shinobi are able to compete with trained shinobi or even a weaker force to defeat a superior force.**

**"I believe that in the future you will need this!".......before him on the table lay scrol and remove the blade.**

**In front of the old man stood a young blond boy.**

**"Who are you?" .... the old man looked into the blue eyes that are not at all suspicious of what he was saying.**

**"It does not matter who I am, but this information is just for me.".....the old man did not know why but he believed in his words:"Tell me what information are you looking for?"**

**"I need to know all of Iceland Laboratory."......old man carefully watched, because he did not expect that someone looks for such information.**

**"Why do you think that we have such information?" ..... the old man asked him and looked with interest.**

**"You live from the information." ..... Naruto said.**

**"We have some information, but they are incomplete. Nobody knows everything about this place. This place is hard to come by because many seals have been placed."......the old man sighed:"You've never come alone in that place! I will give you the information that we have but they are incomplete. If you need something else I will be glad to give you! "**

**"Old man why did you willing to help?" ......he asked .**

**"Iceland Laboratory is a very bad place. I hate everything that has to do with Orochimaru! Many of my people are caught by him.".....old man was angry.**

**"Can I ask you a question?"...... Naruto said and the old man nodded at it.**

**"Six Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist! Do you know the whereabouts of their graves!".......the old man did not believe what he heard.**

**The young man from moment to moment was all the more interesting.**

**"Yes I know but if you want the information you're going to tell me why you're looking for?".......he was curious.**

**Naruto studied the old man and decided to tell the truth: "I want to put seals on them that they can not be a summoned."**

**The old man had been watching Naruto. Something told him that he can have trust in the young man. No one has asked for this information, and he felt that something more behind it all.**

**Handling confirmed cooperation Naruto returned to the Root and gave a report on the activities of the Akatsuki.**


	20. FRIEND 1

                                                          

**Naruto is the root was to many tasks.**

**Espionage or, casually, spying obtaining information considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information.**

**Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction.**

**Infiltration tactics involve small, lightly equipped infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front line strongpoints and isolating them for attack.**

**Assassination is the murder of a prominent person, often but not always a political leader or ruler, usually for political reasons or payment.**

 

**Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai after the completion of the mission handed over the report of the third Hokage ,who carefully read not leaving the slightest information.**

**"Kakashi you are absolutely certain that it was Naruto?" .... Third Hokage was concerned.**

**"Hokage I'm completely sure of my claim. It was Naruto! He called me by name and he told me to tell you 'Hai!' ' " ..... Kakashi confirmed.**

**"I can not believe it. Naruto, that little devil!" ..... Hokage was surprised, "Damn Danzo!"..... Sarutobi sama hissed.**

**"We can not do anything. Naruto voluntarily went to the Root! The only thing we can intensify surveillance on Danzo!".....Kakashi said.**

**"I do not understand what kind of tactics he used on Naruto. It is impossible that Naruto has become so powerful." ...... Asuma followed up.**

**"I can only imagine through all that has passed Naruto. He was a child when he joined Danzo. Danzo is an extreme person in everything." ..... Sarutobi thought hard and said quietly, under his breath: "What secret they're hiding Naruto, what it is so important that you sacrifice in this way? "..... his thinking have all heard but not anything could respond, Naruto for them was the great unknown.**

**After a while he asked Kakashi: "Sasuke ... how he progresses.?"**

**"Very good, but compared to Naruto is not even close to him or he does not show everything he knows. Maybe we have not seen everything he can. I think I'll have to increase the training." ..... he sighed deeply: "It's lucky that he is a very quick learner. He is genius.".....Kakashi here pause for a moment: "..... or he does not show everything he knows ????"**

**" Kakashi .... ".... from his thoughts awakened by the voice of Asuma which watched him with interest:" Something is wrong?".**

**"I need more time!" ... he just said.**

**Sarutobi watched him below the eye and he said to him, "Kakashi, you have time until he gets back."**

**After they left the office Hokage, Kakashi went to Sasuke who was on the field for exercise.**

**"Sasuke, do you have a minute?" .... he asked him as he watched how he handled with his shuriken.**

**Sasuke stopped and looked at Kakashi and he nodded. Sasuke paused and looked at Kakashi, because the voice of Kakashi he concluded that something important .**

**"I saw him!" .... Kakashi watched him, how would he react.**

**At these words Sasuke winced, closed his eyes and he whispered, "You're alive! Thank you Kami!".....then took a deep breath and quickly asked, "Are you sure it's him? ''**

**"He left a message that he will soon establish contact with you." ..... here he paused and he continued after a short time, "Sasuke, you will not recognize him. He was no longer an innocent child. He is on the dark side . "**

**"Kakashi, Naruto is Naruto, no matter how he changed it means nothing to me. If he plunged into the darkness, I will lead him to light. I just want him to come back." ..... Sasuke had a spark in eyes.... " He's my brother and best friend!"**

**Time passed slowly for Sasuke and Naruto. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura have become two-member team led by Kakashi. Naruto, at the same time went to other missions that made him famous.**

**Stories about blond boy slowly spreading the world of njinja who came up to Konoha. Sasuke doubled the exercises and tried to learn more things that he missed in the future.**

**Sasuke had found secret hideout of which they knew only he and Itachi, his older brother. Under cover of darkness, slipped to areas where there was a place of Uciha clan. He went into his old house and went into the garden, which is cultivated before his father. Below a small park of roses, he dug up the surface and made the seal to open the secret hideout.  
He quickly pulled out a backpack from Itachi and reappears place as it was before and then secretly returned to his apartment.**

**He had a smile on his face when he saw the scrolls that contained the collected knowledge of the Uchiha clan and below the voice said, "Itachi, you're my savior."**

**He did not know how he knew about this place but he also believed his memory. Itachi was shinobi unrivaled leaving invisible traces using his sharingan eyes. His knowledge was deep.**

**That night was the night when was Kakashi said that he met Naruto, and it is then awakened buried memories that were deeply in his mind. Since then he has studied the secrets of the scrolls that are hidden inside various secrets of jutsu that some collected Itachi on his short but turbulent journey.**

**Kakashi was surprised by his tenacity and he did not know why, why he and Naruto are struggling with all the strength that they become strong shinobi though two of them were still children.**

**"Naruto will be back, I'm sure of it. I do not want to fall behind him." .... he could not understand the connection between them, although they were not long together they created a strong and very strange relationship as if they knew each other a very long time.**

**When it is this thought passed his head he took a deep breath and whispered, "Time travel!".....but how, why, when .... he did not know, so he decided to now only closely monitor Sasuke. His suspicion is kept to himself.**

**Sakura has not changed, of course not, because they were only the two of them back in time. Although he knew how much him means Sakura, he has her completely avoided but she was persistent.**

**"Sakura, please do not mess around me. Better use your strength and your brain if you want to be a shinobi who will follow me along the way. I do not like empty, weak and stupid girls.".....he told her angrily: "When Naruto came for you will be no place in the team."**

**" Naruto! Who is he? He is not worth mentioning, because everyone hates him in the village. It stupid kid who just like to trouble in the village. He is not here anyway. " .... Sakura also replied angrily:"**

**On these words Sasuke snapped and he suddenly slaps Sakura:" Do not judge someone you do not know. You do not know anything and do not understand anything. Do not you ever say bad things about Naruto if you want to be on good terms whith me!" .... he turned away from her and continue practicing while in itself meant: "Sakura this is for your own good. The sooner you realize some things will be better for all of us."**

**Kakashi was surprised by the reaction of Sasuke: "Sasuke!" .... he wanted to say something.**

**" Kakashi senpai, you're our teacher, you are responsible for us that we learn to survive in this world. To me, you've done a lot already but Sakura is a part of our team. She needs to learn some things, she is still very weak. "...... Sasuke was not looking in his direction.**

**Kakashi was left stunned by his statement: "He blames me for something. Okay maybe I am guilty because I paid attention only to him. But ..... that's not all he wanted to say ...".....he earnestly spoke to her:"** **Sakura no more screwing around. From now on you will do exercises like Sasuke. Along the way you will do exercises with Kurenai san. ".....Kakashi has become serious and he even said, "I'm waiting just like you to come back Naruto. Our reasons for his return may be different but both of us waiting on him. I want him to be in my team. Damn it!""**

**Sakura them looked puzzled: "You two are completely crazy." ..... she turned and left them.**

**Hokage over glass globe watched what happened.**

**He sighed and went to meet Sakura: "It's time I take action?"**

**Sakura did not understand why they have to practice, because all of her life revolves around Sasuke.**

**"Sakura!" ..... called the Hokage: "Do you want to be a ninja?" ..... she was surprised by his question.**

**"I am a ninja!" .... she said.**

**"You think you're a ninja!" .... he asked seriously:" Ok if you think you're a ninja I send your team on task.".....Hokage turned and headed to the office.**

**Hokage's 7 team given an assignment who had been escorting the bridge builder,Tazuna, to his home in the poverty-stricken Land of Waves. Sasuke has regularly displayed great skill in various ninja tools.**

**He is very tactical with wire strings, using them for a variety of purposes including rappelling, manipulating the path of his shuriken, and guiding his nature transformation also displayed the ability to infuse his kunai with chakra.**

**Sasuke became a highly skilled user of kenjutsu. His lethal swordsmanship is very versatile, using impressive speed and precision behind his attacks to leave little time for enemies to react. He can effectively wield it in either hand using a normal or reverse grip, giving him various attack and defence styles to use.**

**He can use his blade as a mid-range projectile with great precision and he can use techniques like hiding a second shuriken in the shadow of the first and control the path of them using wire strings to ensnare an opponent with the strings.**

**Sasuke also has a natural affinity for Lightning Release, learning the Chidori under Kakashi's tutelage, being able to easily strike through and severely injure most targets. Sasuke has great skill in Fire Release, having already mastered his clan's rite of passage technique by age 7.**

**From a young age, Sasuke repeatedly showed keen instincts and quick decision-making skills, considered by many to be a genius. Able to easily learn various advanced techniques or utilise basic ones for crafty manoeuvres, he already became a stand-out before even graduating the Academy.**

**Hokage sent one member of Anbu team to follow them from a distance.**

**Soon after setting out, Sasuke showed exceptional skill when attacked by the Demon Brothers when they defeated with kunai i shuriken.... Lightning Release.**

**Sasuke did not give a time Kakashi to react, because he was ready for the attack.**

**"Nice! Fast and clean. " .... Naruto watched them from the canopy from a nearby tree completely hiding his chakra.**

**Sasuke knew that they would soon meet with Zabuza. Only this time without Naruto.**

**Suddenly, they feel the chakra that was dreaded, that is paralyzing them, and that came from somewhere in the regions treetops nearby trees.**

**"Get down!".....Kakashi warn them and something huge and metal arched out of the trees, whistling through the air it crashed into the tree, biting deep into the wood.**

**There was a man standing on it.**

**"Well, well, if it is not Zabuza Momochi, rouge ninja from the village Hidden in the Mist."....Kakashi sensei said casually, sounding neither surprised nor worried.**

**"Kakshi of the Sharingan! It is sheme but you'll have to hand over the old man.".....Zabuza said in turn, voice husky and darkly amused.**

**"Unfortunately, i can not do that. Team protect Tazuna and don't interfere. This guy is out of your league."....his voice was heavy and serious and Kakashi raised his forehead protector with the eye.**

**"The Sharingan! So I get to see it in action. This is an honour.".....Zabuza said.**

**Zabuza sneered and leapt away, gaining distance. The fog roared in, obscuring both him.**

**"I can not see anything!"....Sakura began to panic.**

**Zabuza's voice rasped out of the fog, everywhere at once and preemptive mantra.**

**Sasuke this time was quiet and did not let the mantra an effect on him.**

**"It is over!".....Zabuza rasped, right behind Sasuke.**

**Sasuke hands rotated, spinning the sharp edge of the sword until it was towards his body and pulling close:" Huh, a water clone. Nice!"....Sasuke said and smiled.**

**"Good work, Sasuke! Let is get rid of this fog, yeah!"....Kakashi sensei praised and h** **e pulsed with chakra, whipping the air araund him and blowing the fog away.**

**"Stay alert! We are only just getting started."....sensei murmured.**

**"No, I think we are finishing up!".....Zabuza rasped, appearing behind him, sword already swinging.**

**Sakura screamed while Sasuke remained quiet because he knew it was his clone.**

**"Behind you!"....Kakashi sensei announced, kunai pulled tight against Zabuza's throat and it was the clone.**

**Kakashi reacted a fraction of second before he would have decapitated. There was a brief flurry of taijutsu,dragging the two of them away from them. Zabuza fighting style was brutal and his ability to control the massive weight of Kubikiri Bocho was nothing short of astonishing, even when momentum and inertia should have dragged it from his hand.**

**Kakashi sensei dodged and weaved araund it, but was retreating step by step, away from Sasuke, Sakure and Tazuna. When Kakashi was near the water is allowed to dismiss him on the water. But he did not expect that and Zabuza followed him into the water. Water has become a heavy and Kakashi realized he had made a mistake.**

**Sasuke was waiting for the right opportunity. Before Zabuza used Water release, Water prison Sasuke use Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades and activates Sharingan.**

**Zabuza was forced to move away from Kakashi.**

**"At the right moment Sasuke!" ..... Kakashi sighed.**

**"Another user Sharingan!" ..... Zabuza surprised but for him it was too late, because Sasuke use Genjutsu: Sharingan.**

**Zabuza was thrown out, which was enough to Kakashi use Lightning Cutter but before he received a blow Zabuza fell to the floor.**

**Sasuke was not surprised, because it is expected to appear Haku.**

**At that moment he heard the voice in mind:" Sasuke do not do anything, because I need him."**

**"Naruto!"......he wanted to shout but refrain: "Where are you?"**

**"I'm looking at you!".....Sasuke turned and looked around but did not see anybody and without feeling chakra of Naruto and again he heard the voice, "I am a shadow!"**

**Kakashi noticed his strange behavior but did not comment because he was interested in what happened Zabuza. He walked over to the body of Zabuza, he knelt down and put his finger on the vein but do not feel a pulse.**

**At the front of them appears Haku:"Thank you!"...the crouching boy in the Hunter - nin mask said:"I have been tracking him for some time."**

**Kakashi looked over him with a lazy eye." He is dead!"....he said and Haku crouched and pulled Zabuza body over his shoulders:" Farewell!".....said and he vanished.**

**Unlike last time Kakashi this time was not in a coma because he not spent too much chakra.**

**"Um ..." .... Kakashi thought as they walked toward the house of Tazuna.**

**"Is something bothering you sensei?" ..... Sasuke asked him, because he knew what he was thinking.**

**"Yes! Hunter nin generally dispose of the body on the spot to prevent people from gaining village secrets and senbon are not usually killing weapons. I think we will meet again Zabuza. He's not dead!" ...... he said and return to the memory of the first time he experienced senbon:"Where is he now? ".....in his mind was the scene that he could not forget and from which he had nightmares......b** **lack mask with slits for the eyes from which they look at him blood red eyes and enchanting dance katana in the night.**

**But him is still something troubling: "Sharingan, how and when Sasuke activated the sharingan?"**

**Sasuke watched him and jerked him from thinking: "I think we could use the time to practice before they return."......at it Sakura hissed.**

**"Sakura you're still with us. So far you have not done anything you just screamed and panicked." .... Sasuke said but no of derision in his voice.**

 

 


	21. FRIEND 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yagura with Naruto and Sasuke  
> Haku and Zabuza alive

                                                                                                        

**Finally they came to the house where lived builder bridge. He lived with his daughter and young grandson who lost his father. When they met with the family and when they were put up in their rooms three of them went to practice to prepare for the upcoming battle.**

**"Ok, Sakura...tree walking and water walking!".....he laughed and showed her while Sasuke assisted.**

**"You have good control chakra!" ..... Kakashi praised her, and she was pleased.**

**After that they had a sparring exercise and their wonder she quickly learned. The lessons which she passed with the two of them quickly adopt and slowly progressed. Tired, they went back to the house where they waited for dinner.**

**The boy watched them with interest. Sasuke is here remembered Naruto and his talks with the boy Inari. But now it was different, and boy was silent. Probably the boy saw something else in Naruto when he suddenly reacted to his behavior. Sasuke gently smiled the boy, and he quickly hid view.**

**Sakura was tired and went to sleep early. Sasuke approached the boy who was sitting on a wooden bridge in front of the house looking at the river  and** **had a conversation with the boy Inari.**

**Kakashi was close to them in the shadows hiding his chakra.**

**"Inari I heard from your how your father died. You blame him as he tried to confront Gato. He is probably in your eyes was strong but as an individual he could not do anything. But he loved you and wanted you to have a better life. He wanted to protect the people who were close to him and important him."....Sasuke spoke while the boy listened.**

**The boy answered and said: "I just wanted to have a father, not a hero."**

**"Let me tell you a story. Listen closely!"......Sasuke is a little imagine but continue.**

**"There was once a boy orphans all alone. All around him was looking at him whit eyes cold as ice, and everyone hated him and accused him of something he did not do. But the boy did not give up. He did all sorts of shenanigans only to visit them that there is  he present, it can not be forgotten. His desire was to find a single person who would recognize him as a human being.**

**Time passed and he went to the academy. He was soon recognized by his teacher. Then he found a boy like him, and the girl, and another teacher. The circle of his friends is expanding. He never gave up, he really did not know what it means to give up . The people he met became his dear and valuable.**

**To keep friends alive he**   **decided to become a powerful and strong that they can be protected. He worked hard for self. At the end of the hard work has paid off. He was able to protect his friends, although everyone thought it was impossible . The people who hated him, they started to change a bit to him. Soon they could not without him. His perseverance has given all the power that they become strong that they can now protect him.**

**He succeeded because he had people he loved and who loved him. He did not want to be alone again. Cried a ton of tears as you are, but concluded that there is nothing from crying.**

**You also have people who you love and you do not want to lose. To protect them you need to become powerful just like your father. You know once the boy managed to save the whole world!"........he laughed.**

**"Where is the boy now?" ..... he asked.**

**"He is close to us and looking at us from the shadows. His name is Naruto. Remember that name, because you will hear a lot of stories about him. Now they call him blue boy ... blonde.**

**Never give up what you love and what is you dearest. My life is his. I know that he would never give up on me, he took me back from the deepest darkness and I will never give up on him. He's my best, most valuable friend, a brother. One day you'll understand!".....Sasuke hugged the boy.**

**Kakashi was surprised with the story. Sasuke was talking about Naruto.**

**"When he managed to save the world? "...... this fact wrote deep in thought:" I think I heard now something very important! This story is not fictional!"**

**Naruto next day met the Haku. Haku is picking herbs that he needed to heal Zabuza. Naruto did not show immediately but watched him for a while. Haku him was not registered when he heard a voice behind him.**

**"Haku!" .....Naruto silently call him.**

**Haku is slightly turned toward the voice and looked at Naruto. Naruto was dressed in black and wearing a black mask. Katana was on his back.**

**"Who are you? How do you know me?" ..... Haku became cautious, because even though he did not feel chakra but he knew it was a dangerous opponent.**

**"I do not want conflict between us. Just hear me out! Please!" ..... opponent who was standing in front of him removed his mask.**

**Haku first saw the bright, blue eyes like the sky. Blonde hair, which was tied in a ponytail. Opponent was no older than he.**

**"Okay, I want to hear what you tell me blonde?" ..... he felt no killer instinct and relax:"I heard about you on the road. You are a powerful shinobi and all you call blonde! You're fair play player."**

**"You've got something important you want to protect. You want to protect a person who is important to you, you want to work for that person, you want to fight for that person, you want that person's dream to become a reality, this is your dream.**

**You do not have your own dream, you think you're not important to anyone, the pain you feel because you're barely alive, when a person ... has something important they want to protect ... that's when they can become truly strong.**

**Haku you're a good-hearted, compliant, and eager shinobi. You disliked needing to kill others in his role as a tool, and avoided doing so whenever possible. You want to avoid inflicting great harm, even putting them into a death-like state to prevent them from fighting further. You suffered from a belief that you was unnecessary, and served Zabuza because you wanted to feel useful.**

**I like you and I understand you very well, because I have such a persons, but unlike you, I know that they need me. You have a pure heart and I do not want to lose it. You do not know me, but if I tell you that I need you not as a tool but as a friend would you believe me?**

**Would you believe me if I told you that he loves you and that you not only a tool for him?".......Naruto has answered his words.**

**Haku was confused and shaken. From where this stranger know his thoughts and feelings.**

** **

**" I know it's hard to believe me that I know exactly what you now feel. If I prove I'm right, I want you to listen to my thoughts and ideas. I think we can find common ground in this, because I know from reliable sources that will Gato cheat. That's where I know you will need for some time remain secret. Do not ask me, because I can not divulge any more."......Naruto looked Haku straight into his eyes and he is expecting his answer.**

**Haku did not believe that someone so well-read, but in his voice felt sincerity. His eyes are sparkling power and he believed in every word.**

**"Ok tell me your suggestion!" ..... Haku is still felt something for the first time: "I think I can trust him."**

**"If you do not drop it true what I speak freely you can kill me. ".....Haku was surprised by this words.**

 

**A little later on the bridge.**

 

**On the bridge met Zabuza, Haku and Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura.**

**Before he began to fight Sasuke heard Naruto's voice in his mind: "Fight in the same way as before. I know you can beat Haku but do not. Mangekyō Sharingan finally but no activate yet. I have a plan keep everyone alive. Please help me!"**

**Sasuke and Haku were closed in demonic ice mirrors, while Zabuza and Kakashi struggled a bit away from them. They were hidden from their view.**

**Haku and Sasuke looked at each other. That moment was very brief when Naruto appears next to them.**

**"Naruto ....." ..... Sasuke whispered when he saw a person in black clothes and with a mask on his face .**

**"Sasuke long time no see! You have no clue how ..." ... Naruto did not say a word until the end when it Sasuke strongly embraced: "For God's sake, this is a very long time Naruto." Naruto .... it also hug him, "Sasuke a little more time and we will be together!".....by the way he took off his mask and at him they looked blue eyes full of shine.**

**"You've changed, you do not like the old Naruto."....Sasuke watched him with interest and smiled: "Now you look more like him! I think it would be a big surprise for all."  
Haku watched them with interest, and he carefully listened to their conversation, which was strange.**

**"I owe you one Sasuke!" .... and then he said:" Haku, it's time for the show!"......while Sasuke looked puzzled.**

**Naruto let out chakra, and everyone felt it.**

**It was pressing and havy, blakenting and smothering, the darkness after a nightmare, the suffocation of being underwater, the vertigo of extreme heights, felt pure anger, rage and hatred in immeasurable limits. Kakashi paused for a moment as well as Zabuza. Neither of them has ever felt chakra pure evil accumulated for centuries.**

**"Nine tails but now is much more sinister. How? What's going on?" .... Kakashi wondered.**

**"Haku what happens?" .... Zabuza was concerned.**

**Sasuke and Haku were losing breath. The fear that they felt was unthinkable.**

**"I'm sorry! I think that we were a little bit overdid, do not you Kurama? " ..... chakra disappeared while Kurama in the background of his mind a little bit groan.**

**Naruto using clone turned into Haku. Sasuke was confused, because it is the first time he see a perfect transformation. Kakashi was at the end of the fight, and just when he wanted to give the final push ahead of him appears Haku. He with his body protect Zabuza of the Kakashi Lightning Blade.**

**Kakashi could not stop the shot and Haku hold him by the hand giving the possibility Zabuza to kill Kakashi, but he avoided the shot. Zabuza stepped back, and Kakashi lowered his body on the floor. There is a struggle was decided because Zabuza could no longer fight as before. The reason was Haku.**

**"Zabuza listen to me. He really liked you. He really, really liked you and you really do not think anything of him. Do you really not think anything of him? When a person becomes as strong as you, do they start to think like that ...? He sacrificed his life for you. He could not even see his own dream ... Dying as a tool ......is just .....too painful ..... ".....heard the a voice in his mind full of sorrow and pain.**

**"Do not say any more .... Haku ... not only did he hurt his heart you fight for me, but he hurt his heart for you guys. I know. He was that kind. ".... the tears ran down his face while Kakashi looked puzzled and wondered: "Who's he talking?"**

**At that moment Gatou came with his followers.**

**"I never planned on paying you any maney. Hiring normal ninja from a village is expensive, and they may betray me. So get missing nin who are easy to take care of afterwards. I have the ninja battle each other and once they are weakened I kill them off with numbers. It doesn't cost me anything. The only problem with this plan was you Zabuza. The devil of the Hidden Mist?"......Gato gloated.**

**At that moment a black shadow ran across the bridge and just they see lightning of katana blade.**

**Kakashi was surprised and heard a voice in his mind: "Sensei you did not kill anybody. Take it slow."**

**All who were on the side of Gato in an instant were killed.**

**Ninja in black with a mask on his face with red bloodshot eyes that radiated from the slot of masks stared in Zabuza: "He is not a tool. You like him do not you?"**

**"He was not a tool!" .... Zabuza said.**

**"I'm glad to hear that, do not you Haku!" ... his voice trembling: "I would never lie to my friends! I will never allow my friends to die."**

 

** Yagura **

 

**"Zabuza Momochi! My pleasure to see you again" .... voice rang through the clearing.**

 

**Despite his height and youthful apperance, Yagura was an adult, with a head of messy-grey hair, pink pupiless eyes and what seems to be a stitch-like marking running from under his left eye, all the way down his cheek. He wore a grey, sleeveless shirt with the Kirigakure forehead protector attached to the front, short-sleeved mesh armour over which he also wears a green poncho along with a turquoise sash around his waist, paired with a green apron over his pants. He wears a pair of brown boots, and on his back he carried a staff-like pole weapon with uneven sized hooks with a green flower on the larger end.**

 

**Zabuza has remained frozen in place, "No!" .... his voice was shrill.**

**Ninja in black with a mask on his face he looked at the stranger, startled. He never took his eyes off him.**

**Kakashi looked at the mysterious boy.  
**

**"Who are you?" ... he spoke to a stranger as he looked at Tazuna who was trembling. "Tazuna san! What's wrong?"**

**Tazuna coughed to clear his throat: "This is Mizukage!"  
**

**Kakashi's eyes widened and he stands in front of him. Yagura rolled his eyes and he came over.**

**"Mizukage sama, what are you doing here alone?" ... Kakashi asked him with respect but with fear in his eyes.**

**"I have come to meet someone, Kakashi of the Sharingan." .... Yagura had a mischievous smile.**

**Kakashi did not believe: "Who, if I may ask?"**

**Yagura turned to the young man in black with a mask on his face: "I've always had a desire to know him!" .... he bowed his head toward the young man in black.**

**The young man raised his hand and he took off with the facial mask: "Yagura .... How?" .... blue eyes of heaven shine sparking, while in the corner of his eyes gathered tears and a tear slid down his cheek.**

**"Naruto .... long time no see!" ..... Yagura approached him and he embraced him: "Long time no see!" ... he repeated.**

**Kakashi was stunned: "What's going on? Where did the two of them know?" ... but Kakashi was more surprised with Naruto.  
**

**Minato and Kushina stood in front of him: "Miracles happen and in our world!" ... he thought and he sneaks a smile on his face.**

**"Naruto!" ....Sasuke gasp: "For God's sake, long time no see!" .... he went to him and they embrace.**

**On the bridge was a silence and present did not even know what was happening.  
**

**"Mizkage sama has come here? Who is this blond young man?" .... they all wondered.**

**"Yagura, this is Sasuke Uchiha!" ..... he presents him.**

**"Well, Sasuke Uchiha!" ..... two of them shook hands, while the Mizukage watched him: "He is the big league, do not you?"........ Sasuke nodded: "Number one!"**

**"Naruto, show respect!" ... Sakura said under her breath."Do not embarrass Konoha!"**

 

**Sasuke and Naruto have closed their eyes and they shook his head and Yagura said."A young girl, he is the one of the nine who does not need to have respect for me, because he is my brother in solitude and loneliness. ".....none of them did not understand his words except Sasuke and Kakashi.**

 

**Zabuza and Kakashi were confused when they saw toward them coming Haku.**

**Haku came to Zabuza: "It's true is not it?" ....he asked him wide-eyed.**

**"Yea .... it's true!" ..... Zabuza embraced him: "I'm glad you're alive!".....unable to come still to himself:"** **Who is this person?" .... he remembered to ask.**

**"Naruto, he is a great person and he is our friend!" .... Haku looked into the distance: "He's just a shadow! An illusion!"......he had a smile and said: "I like him! He showed me a new dream. Later I will tell you all! "**

**"Zabuza, Haku things have changed. You are free!" .... Yagura views Naruto who just said, "Thank you!"**

**Kakashi had a smile: "He's my team!"**

**Inari comes to Sasuke: "He is a blue boy, blondy do not you!"**

**"Yea!" ..... Sasuke ruffled his hair: "He's my best friend, my brother!"**

**Sakura was silent and did not say anything, "I'm not a ninja yet!" ... she thought.**

**Yagura turned to Sasuke and Naruto: "You will come with me!" ... they confirm with a nod.  
**

**Then he addressed Kakashi: "Sasuke will come back tomorrow if you do not mind Kakashi?".....on what he only shook his head and said: "I'm glad to meet you Mizikage sama!"**

 


	22. THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto to surprise Danzo make hand seals War.... Ox.... Dog....Dog.....Clap hands.....Boar.......Slam hand on the ground.  
> Naruto is used Uzumaki Sealing Technique.  
> 

****

 

 **After the Mission bridge Naruto returned to Root. In an interview with the Haku has negotiated the details of his last mission organized by Root. T** **he mission was to be carried out seven days before the Chuunin exam.**

**In the meantime, he has conducted final preparations for the execution of his last mission for the organization Root.**

**"The time is almost over!" .... he was thinking: "I must do it now."**

**"Hey, brat no withdrawal. All these years, led this moment. I am with you, do not worry. I will never let my Jinchuriki die!" ..... make grin Kurama.**

**"Ma ma Kurama you become more like Kakashi!" ...... he laughed.**

**"Hey, kid make of this masterpiece." ...... in his voice felt pride.**

**"No doubt! Hey, Kurama thanks!" ..... his face suddenly became serious:"If something goes wrong you are free!"**

**"Naruto, you still all is not clear. I can not be free, not now! Our chakra is mixed and merged into a single entity. We share the same destiny. But I never doubted my decision. Brat I'm with you all the way. It was very interesting and enlightening our journey." ......Kurama said.**

**As the time approached Chunin exam Sasuke became restless.**

**Sasuke knew that Naruto intends to do something: "Naruto I'm with you no matter whatever happens!" .... he is already several days was nervous and pensive: "Chunin exam at the door. Time escapes!"**

**Kakashi is from the moment when he heard the story told the boy kept an eye on Sasuke.** **He noticed that something was wrong, he felt his discomfort and he concluded that something big play.**

**Kakashi eyes missed nothing, "Sasuke what are you going to do? Who are you? What is the relationship between you?" ...... he was consumed with thoughts: "Your progression is beyond any logic.**

**Children easily forget things but you guys are not like other children. Your acquaintance was short, and it is impossible in such a short time to create a strong friendship such as yours. Now that I think about a letter he left Naruto immediately that something was strange.**

**A child of seven years can not think that way especially he. You two are completely different from all of us.**

**You two are hiding something, but what? "......he sighed deepl** **y:"Minato sensei, Itachi what do I do? Believe in them, okay I will believe in them and I will be there close to them. Damn it all!"**

 **Seven days before the Chuunin exam Konoha was on alert.** **Danzo Shimura disappeared. Root was in a panic and confusion.** **Naruto was in the hospital in a coma. Heavy clouds were strung over Konoha, because no one knew what had happened.**

 **Konoha has declared a state of alert of the first degree.** **Office Hokage became the busiest place in Konoha.**

**"What is the state of Naruto?" ... the first question put by the Hokage.**

**Present were taken aback with this question: "Why the Hokage interested in that boy? Is it not more important to the safety of Konoha."...they all wondered.**

**Bird-Masked Anbu Member stood before him and said, "Naruto is in a coma! We do not know anything yet about his real condition."**

**"I want four of Anbu team to be constantly with him." ..... handed him a list of Anbu who will be with Naruto 24 hours Yuga Uzuki, Yamato, Ro and Towa. "I want to report immediately on any change of his condition no matter what kind of crowd as I was .".....he gave the order:"Other members may gather all the members of Root."**

**Shikaku Nara, Iruka Umino, Ibiki Morino, Asuma Sarutobi and Hatake Kakashi were present in the office.**

**"Old man what's going on?" ..... Jiraiya entered the office without knocking.**

****

**"Jiraiya!" ..... Hokage in surprise exclaimed: "What are you doing here?"**

**"I have something in mind?" .... Jiraiya looked at him: "How is he?"**

**Hokage was silent and just looked at him seriously.**

**"Is something wrong? Where is he?" ..... he repeated the question again.**

**"He is in a coma!" .... said quietly Hokage.**

**"Who is in a coma?" .....asked Jiraiya confused.**

**"Naruto!" .... said whith  a clear voice Hokage.**

**"Coma? Why? What happened?" ..... his face was getting darker.**

**"He is the last six years was in Root. There ..." ..... Jiraiya was a head up to him and banged on the table: "Root? ...Why?... Why did you let this happen? Why did not you inform me ? For God's sake Minato must be turning in his grave.** **I'd take him with me! Where is he now? "......Jiraiya was furious at the Hokage.**

**Everyone in the room were speechless.**

**"Jiraiya ..." ..... Kakashi wanted him to stop.**

**"Do not tell me you knew about this! You did not take any action? What happened with all of you? Minato, Kushina ..... you let this happen to their child. I can not believe it!" .... .Jiraiya desappears.**

**Hokage had a grim face as Kakashi. The secret to the Naruto son of Minato and Kushina was brought to light.**

**That the holder of nine tails is Naruto knew most of the village but who his parents knew only a few people. Naruto is for all was a child without parents.**

**"Is it true that Naruto son of Minato?" .... asked Ibiki.**

**"Yes!" .... Hiruzen Sarutobi third Hokage said.**

**                                                                                        **

**The room suddenly became uncomfortable.**

**"I'm going out on patrol!" ..... Kakashi said.**

**The others receive orders that they were issued by the Hokage. Jiraiya went into the room where he was Naruto but was surprised when he saw that next to him sits another boy, not a boy for almost a young man.**

**"Naruto you are able to get out of the Root but at what cost? Do not die, because all bets are off. Please come back, because I do not know how to go forward." .... he ran his fingers over his cheeks: "You, you've changed. You did not a kid anymore as before. You let your hair grow.**

**You have no clue how I'd love to see your eyes. Blue eyes like the sky. What happened there? Please open your eyes. Naruto!".....he whispered.**

**Jiraiya came softly and put his hand on his shoulder.**

**"He will not die! Can I look at him and see what's wrong with him." .... he got up and turned to the newcomer.**

**"You are Uciha Sasuke right!" ..... Jiraiya said when he looked at the black eyes as dark.**

**"Jiraiya sama please help him!" ...... down his face slid tears.**

**Jiraiya sensed another chakra in the room and smiled: "Kakashi please tell me what happened!"**

**He sat on the bed, lifted his shirt and his fingers lightly passed over his stomach: "The seal is missing!" .... he said quietly but anxiously: "But something is strange. Chakra nine tails is there, Naruto chakra is there but .... impossible. "..... his face reflected surprise." Their chakras are merged into one.** **Oh man! How could this happen? How do we separate chakras and returned in original condition?".....he is thinking hard.**

**Sasuke suddenly gave suggestion: "Could you help Tsunade sama?"**

**"Tsunade!" ...... Jiraiya was surprised: "Yea, she could help me! But now I do not know where she is."**

**He did not say to an end when in front of them to create a frog Kosuke messenger toad from Mount Myōboku.**

**Jiraiya took the message and smiled: "I know where she is!"....but was stunned:"I do not understand how he knew that I'm looking for information. Something very strange is happening! "**

**He wrote a note and send Kosuke the next destination, "Now we only have to wait! Kakashi tell me everything that happened so far."**

**"Jiraiya no one knows what happened in the underground. I can not say anything with certainty but I guess it's Naruto in it all mixed up. I you can only speak of Naruto as far as I know but not here I do not know much.**

**Since he joined the organization of all communications were down. What and how he survived I do not know only know from stories that I have heard that he is a strong shinobi.** **Jiraiya did you hear about Blonde,shadow boy?" ...... Kakashi asked.  
**

**"The shadow boy ! Yea .... I've heard of him!" ......he said, and he immediately asked, "Why are you interested?"**

**"You do not have to believe it, but that boy is Naruto!" ..... Kakashi said to to him, which surprised Jiraiya.**

**"Naruto? You gotta be kidding me !." ..... Jiraiya did not believe.**

**"Jiraiya that boy is Naruto**.  **I have had the opportunity to see him in action. For the first time I was overwhelmed, and I do not know how, everything happened in an instant. He is a great fighter with a katana. His movements are perfection. Do not tell me you do not know how they were trained in Root. He overcame them all. "....t** **here told him about the mission that he will not forget for a long time.**

**Then there was silence. Each of them was in his thoughts.**

 

** Confidential conversation Naruto with Haku. **

 

**After completion of the mission on the bridge, Naruto met with the Haku and Zabuza.**

**"Yagura, I have to talk with Haku and Zabuza. You can come with me!" .... he spoke to him two, and then looked at Kakashi: "I'm glad to see you!" .... and they disappear in front them.**

  **"Naruto thanks again!" ..... Haku hug him.**

**"Haku I have one request: I know that you can help me." ...... he looked at him seriously.**

**"Say what it is!" .... Haku gets serious:"** **You're fulfilled the promise and I am very grateful to you. Anything you ask of me, I'll do it. "..... Haku was smiling.**

**"I intend to get rid of Danzo Shimura, head of the organization Root in Konoha." ..... Haku looked at him in surprise: "I belong to Root as you know.!"**

**"You're serious?" ..... Zabuza being astonished:"He's a dangerous opponent."**

**"Naruto ...." .... Sasuke will anxiously.**

**"Do not worry Sasuke, you know that I went to the Root with just one objective. My plan is about to play." ..... he comforted him.**

**"Do not worry, I know all about him. I need you to be my protection from behind, just in case.".....t** **here he paused and said, "The six years I spent with him in the underworld. I'm a survivor."**

**"How old are you now? You look very young. ".... asked him Zabuza.**

**"Thirteen, for God's sake with six years you became his protege. Uh uh ... I'm glad I'm not your opponent. You're very dangerous!" .... Zabuza him confess.**

**Haku watched him and said: "You do not look that you were thirteen. Your physique prefer slightly older person."**

**" I will give you a complete draft of the Chamber of Root. In any case, if anything happens to me, you can come out. I'll take care of the members of Root.** **A year always has the same arrangement and order. I hope that will not change. I will give you a plan with all the details to the smallest detail.** **Always at the same time I and Danzo spend in training and then he is most relaxed.**

 **The other members are busy with other work and no one is allowed access while we practice and it is the only chance to annul him.** **You've seen my transformation that I can do with more clones. "..... on his face could see fatigue:"The plan will put in activation when everything is settled and agreed.**

**I plan this mission if it is all right seven days before the Chuunin exam. But if you do not want to take part there is no problem. I'll do it alone! ".....Naruto did not require him to participate in his plan, which impressed Haku.**

**"It's okay Naruto, I gave you word!" .... Haku watched with interest.**

**"Do not worry Zabuza, Danzo believes me! I'll do everything in my power to mission for him to be simple. I just need someone to keep an eye on my back just in case. "....pacified the Zabuza who was fussy, and he felt it.**

**"Another thing. I've got an idea that is possible but I need your help out of this mission. ." .....his eyes suddenly becomes decisive: "But I have to ask you what kind of life you want to live. I can suggest Hokage to become residents in Konoha if you want, because you are now constantly on the run."**

**"We want settle down both. It was enough of killing, hatred and suffering. Well, Konoha is a great place. We do not want more trouble attracting Konoha." .... the Haku was honest and Zabuza confirmed it with a nod.**

**Naruto paused, thinking, but Naruto spoke with them in mind: " OK, here's my idea which is feasible. My clan is the clan Uzumaki. Residence of my clan is Uzushiogakure. In this area there is an underwater cave in which there is an invisible seal ..... "..... he has exhibited them plan to their surprise:" At the time you will get instructions on how and what, but I believe that you will have and society in the near future. If I was able to I would have made alone but I can not, because are waiting me more temptations and struggles. I chose you, for you to be chief who will conduct this my plan. For now, you can lay low in a place that you choose.".....Yagura listened to his plan.**

**"Naruto, I'd like to live that way. I'm already sick of killing and hiding. If the idea is feasible, I will give you support." .... Zabuza after a long time had a calm look, normal. "I'd love to! "**

**Before he parted from them, asked them that everything they heard retain them for themselves and to the plan in any case not to disclose to persons who are close to him.**

**Then they parted. Yagura two of them grabbed their hands and transported them to a cave.**

**Haku and Zabuza discussed.**

**"I think he can succeed in this plan. I have a feeling that he was hiding a much bigger secret " .....Haku was the first time in his life honestly happy:"He is the first person who gave me his trust and friendship."**

**"He is a powerful ninja, and I think he does not tell us everything. Chakra that we felt on the bridge comes from him. He's a beast! Danzo made a lot of trouble working from the underground.** **I want to help him! His idea is great. Finally we would have a peaceful life and shelter. Abandoned children would finally have a real home.".....Zabuza got enthusiasm and hope.**

**"Well, Zabuza waiting for us a lot of work. The work that we could not even dream .... Naruto has a nice dream ...Our dream ....!" ........Haku embraced Zabuza.**

**"Yea! He is a strange creature! Yagura has changed." ......he smiled and returned the embrace.**

 

**ROOT ..... assassination**  ......... **The night when the stars are falling down**

** **

**The mission that took place in the underground was the perfection of all that is Naruto previously learned. All his knowledge and skills were concentrated in one place.**

**The mission is carried out quickly and without a single error.**

**Exactly one week before the Chunin exam during the night Naruto was introduced Haku in Konoha.** **Kurama was part of his chakras transferred to Haku.**

 **Through telepathy they were able to consult and coordinate their movements.** **The seals that are at the Root did not activate because the Haku had chakra of Naruto and nine tails.**

**If he was that a new seal Naruto was able to detect with the help of Kurama.**

**With the help of Shadow Clone Technique he managed to put members of the Root in comatose state due to the technique of toxic long needle Senbon. Body was hidden in a place where Danzo not often visited and checked the chamber that had been hidden in the eye .**

**With his clones he was replaced by members of the Root in case something goes wrong. The whole time he was in cahoots with Haku.**

**"Danzo until now nothing had doubted. We can continue with the plan!" ..... he says Haku through thoughts.**

**Naruto joined Danzo like every time before, at the point of their meeting for a practical exercise, without missing a single detail escapes him before his eyes. Danzo was calm and relaxed.**

**His manner was the same. They stepped into the position to fight. Naruto did not want to waste time.**

**"Now!" ......he said Haku telepathically.**

**Haku is released long needles with poison Senbon to Danzo to specific points on his spine, paralyzing him instantly. Naruto the same time his Sanbon needles out towards the left hand of the Danzo.**

**The poison that is used Naruto was so strong that the poison is directly acted on the nervous system.**

**Afterward Danzo could only watch in Naruto with wide-eyed with fear.**

**Naruto came to him and unwrapped the bandage from his left eye where was Sharingan from Shisui Uchiha. He pulled it out and put it in a bottle with liquid.**

**"The mission was carried out to the end. Grandpa now everything will be okay. Your plan can begin." ..... Naruto made a grin.**

  

**What intends Naruto? Is there a plan for which no one knows, perhaps!**

 

**Haku is curiously watching Naruto: "I'm very, very glad that I was not his enemy. He's a ninja from the shadows."**

**Naruto to surprise Danzo make hand seals War.... Ox.... Dog....Dog.....Clap hands.....Boar.......slam hand on the ground.** **Naruto is used Uzumaki Sealing Technique:"** **This is for Uciha clan and Sasuke! " ..... Naruto took a deep breath and exhale .**

**To throw suspicion from himself he looked at the Haku and said, "Thank you! Go ahead!" ..... Haku cast senbon in him and after a while he falls into darkness.**

**Haku could not believe the speed with which he has achieved mission: "I'm glad I'm not your enemy" ...he thought: "I'm only interested in how much time should you plan all the details to the smallest detail, a plan that is not was created in a short period of time, but this is a plan that had to create a very long time. This mission happens only once in a lifetime. The perfect mission from beginning to end. "**

**That night, Sasuke could not sleep.** **He came out and walked around Konoha.**

**After a while, he was a heavy step, burdened by thoughts came to the river and sat down. The night was cold but he did not feel the cold. His thoughts were elsewhere. His thoughts were with Naruto.**

**He looked at the sky: "Naruto, what are you doing now?"**

**"Sasuke, tonight is the night of the decision. If it is all right I'll be free at last and I'll join you!" ..... heard his voice in his mind.**

**"Naruto, I'll be close. If it goes wrong, count me in! Stay alive!" ..... he did not hear his answer.**

**He looked up at the sky and see a star fall.**

**"Tonight, a new star is born. Naruto come back!" .... he raised his hands to heaven: "Kami please keep him alive." ..... long he sat on the bank and watched the stars in the sky.**

**Stands up and went back when he heard a voice: "Sasuke is all ok!"**

**"Thank you kami, tomorrow is a new day, the sun will shine again!" ....Sasuke had a broad smile after who knows how long.**


	23. TWO FACE

                                                                                      

 

**Fu Yamanaka, Hinote, Hyo, Kinoto, Mizunoe, Mizunoto, Sai, Shin,Tatsuma Aburame, Tera, Terai, Torun Aburame, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto were all gathered in one place, Intelligence Division.**

**Hinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Kinoe, Kinoto, Mizunoe, Mizunoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto were members of the group who had carried out the assassination mission Haruzen after Sarutobi Hiruzen was chosen to resume his duties as Hokage.**

**The mission was failed, because Kakashi signaled intentions Hokage. Third Hokage had come to visit them and ask them what happened. None of them knew the answer. He was surprised when they asked him for Naruto.**

**"Naruto is still in a coma. He received a greater amount of the dose of poison than you. I believe that the one who attacked Root aimed to kill Danzo and Naruto." ..... Hokage they explained although his opinion was quite different.**

**"Naruto can not die! Impossible! You do not know him." ..... Shin was excited: "He saved my life, He can not die!". .... of great excitement he got a fit of coughing.**

**Hokage is to remain a little surprised, because he knew that there was no grace in the Root.**

**At this point, it appears Kakashi:"** **I'm sorry the Third Hokage, but I have news for you.** **Jiraiya called Tsunade." .... Kakashi says: "She can save him!" ..... Hokage sighed: "After all the good news!".....then he turned to pale Shin:** **"What is your name?" ..... he asked.**

**"Shin" ..... he said.**

**"Danzo, what he actually did with Naruto?" .... Hokage wanted to find out what is Danzo worked with Naruto.**

**"You do not know Naruto. He is different from us here. He is a great person. A powerful ninja, he is amazing, in a word, genius." .... Shin said.**

**"He's the only person I would not wanted to have as an enemy!" .... Hyo shook his head.**

**"We all agree with you. He's a very, very powerful shinobi, and only has thirteen years. It makes me shudder to think what will become of him when he's older. ".... Kinoto said.**

**"He is the only one of us who has made one hundred percent of the mission. I think that says it all!" ....Fu Yamanaka said.** **( the most-skilled ninja in Root )**

**Kakashi and Hokage did not believe what they had just heard but is waiting for them even bigger surprise.**

**"Damn Danzo what you did to him?" ..... Hokage slammed his fist on the wall.**

**"I think you're wrong. Naruto was eager to learn as much as possible. Danzo had only fulfilled his wish and nothing more. Everything else was his will, perseverance and never give up no matter how difficult challenge even at the cost of his life. There's something strange about him. The red chakra that comes out of him and wrapped him, his eyes took on a blood red color as the eyes of a beast from the deepest darkness. "..... Shin finally said:"But his eyes, blue as the sky, are the most beautiful thing exists in this dark world."**

**"Naruto is the youngest member of the Root. Danzo is completely different behave towards him. In contrast to the environment in which he lived Naruto got his full attention. Over the years, I think Danzo began to change under his influence. Unconsciously he enjoyed his company. He is really different from us.**

**I do not understand one thing why you hate him so much and gave him a cold embrace. He was a child of seven years. Danzo took advantage of his hatred toward you and pointed to the other side. What did he do to you or who were his parents? "..... Dajima asked them but he received no response.**

**"You are with us, you can do whatever you want but Naruto is not to blame. If you want someone to blame, blame yourself, because you are with your behavior forced Naruto to Root.".....Sai join the conversation.**

**All members of Root defended Naruto.**

**Kakashi is mixed into the conversation and said to them: "Do any of you know what kind of program adjustments used Danzo with Naruto."**

**"Well, I think the Naruto passed exercises that exceed normal understanding. Two years none of us had been in contact with him. He has all the time been under scrutiny from Danzo. To our quarters came to his cries. I think that Naruto was in greater hell than we. I do not know what's worse brainwashing, killing emotion or create a new person to a person who has perfected the art of killing. A person without a soul, heart and emotion!".......Hyo said.**

**"When we first met Naruto was frightening though we were accustomed to killing. I think it was somewhere around three years of his stay in Root. He was not a human being but a beast. The speech, behavior and movement were automatically. His eyes were red as if he was a beast from hell. While he was with us he was not paying attention to us as if we do not exist.**

**We are shinobi, fighters but none of us is alone. After the mission we have discussed among themselves but he was in a separate world."......Shin are reminded:" I think it's been a few months until he started to pay attention to us. He first approached me and started a conversation with me. His eyes had become normal. Blue ayethe clear skies."......he mildly flushed in the face:" I do not know why but I got the feeling that I am safe with him. From that day on all in the Root we started changing a bit."**

**""Thanks to him, many of us survived, Danzo abolished killing between us, it's easier to breathe. I and Shin did not have to fight each other to death. I am grateful to Naruto.".....Sai smiled.**

**"Naruto is an expert in the treatment of herbs. He stopped my disease to spread. I've got hope!" ..... Shin had the same smile as Sai.**

**""I think there are two Naruto. One person with two faces ..... one face with a smile full of life, another is face of the beast from hell.".......Fu Yamanaka said:" "Both of these two face are equally terrifying!"**

**Hokage and Kakashi remained speechless, unable to believe what they just heard. Then they quietly returned to the office of Hokage.**

**"Hokage what do we do with the members of Root? They are all powerful shinobi. So far, most of their mission failed, no knowledge of any damage Konoha, Danzo has disappeared and probably been killed because members have no binding seals. I think we will not find the killer." .......Kakashi asked him.**

**"I think in some ways it has already been resolved. Danzo is no longer there.".....he took a deep breath:" Their loyalty will go to another person! "**

**"Hokage, you do not think you that they would now be loyal to Naruto." ... Kakashi did not believe.**

**"Kakashi, Naruto is strong. Do not you hear their thoughts as I do. We do not know everything that was going down behind the scenes. They have a high opinion of him." .... he gets an explanation:" However, I am interested in what is hiding behind this. What is his real purpose to enter the Root?" ... he was thinking:"The way things are now nothing we can not conclude, there are more unknowns."**

**At the office enters Jiraiya.**

**"You came at the right time. What happens with Naruto? "..... Hokage asked quickly.**

**" I do not understand what happens to him? How is it possible that their chakra merged? Nine Tails is not under seal, and he is still with Naruto." ...... he was puzzled: "Nine tails him protects. This can only mean that it has control over it, but when he managed him under control ?"......Jiraiya with that statement only deepened unknowns.**

**"I do not think he got help from Danzo, because he wanted nine tails for himself. We do not know what happened to all, especially the Naruto who spent a lot of time with him apart from the other members but somehow I have a feeling that Danzo did not know all about Naruto. ".....Hokage felt on his back falling even greater burden:" A true shinobi!".....he exhaled.**

**"I have information about the organization Akatsuki" ..... Jiraiya explained it all as he gathered and learned about the organization and said: "They are on the move and I think that will be their target Naruto, namely nine tails.** **I am now here for a while and Naruto will be under my observation, and you take care of Sasuke as before. "........ he spoke to Kakashi:" I have only one request! "......he then spoke Hokage.**

**"What kind of request?" .... Sarutobi sighed again.**

**"When Tsunade came to let her remain a secret that we were in the Konoha!" .... Jiraiya just said.**

**"It's okay! I agree with that. The less people know you're back in the Konoha the better. Especially after the disappearance of Danzo.".....Hokage has given its consent.**

**" Kakashi, If all goes well with Naruto,soon it will be held Chunin exam. Report him as a member of your team.".....he gave him a proposal.**

  **"You do not know what you're asking. He is able to kill them all." ...... Kakashi was in doubt.**

**"Kakashi, I think you're wrong there. The stories I heard about him on the way are a good story, he's not a murderer. If something goes wrong all of us we'll be there and we will prevent it. I just want to know what he's capable of." .... he settles him.**

**"Tell me a story!" .... Hokage wanted to break all their problems for a little while.**

**"Would not you believe what happened to me?" .... Jiraiya was a bit wistful.**

**"Something good or ..." .... Kakashi looked at him.**

**"You all know that I was during the last war left to raise three orphan. One of them sent me a message to meet on neutral ground." .... Jiraiya coughed.**

**They both looked at him in surprise.**

**"The message was pleasantly surprised me though was when I read it was a bit strange but it is now all the litter in its place." ...... he shrugged: "The main culprit is Naruto!"**

**"Naruto!" .... both exclaimed in unison.**

**"It is likely that Naruto had a mission in Amegakure and there he had a meeting with Nagato." ... Jiraiya watched them.**

**"If my information is correct, Nagato is involved in the group Akatsuki. He wrote in the message that he had read my book as a result of his idea. In possession of the book came across one blond with blue eyes as clear skies. He has written more that the young man left a deep impression on him. He wants to get in touch with me as soon as possible. I guess what it is. "..... Jiraya as he spoke on his face was a small smile.**

**Kakashi and Sarutobi were looked quizzically: "Naruto .... for God's sake, that child is at all important places. More and more becomes complicated." ..... their thoughts were the same.**

**"I think it's time for me to step down from position of Hokage. Naruto becomes more unpredictable. I'm just tired! "..... inhaled deeply Hokage.**

**Kakashi and Jiraiya watched him pale but decided to accept whatever he decides.**

**"Tsunade would be a good Hokage." ..... Jiraiya will enthusiastically:" I think it's time to go, because Tsunade should be here any minute. But this is the last thing I said to let remain a secret for now."**

**Back at the hospital Jiraiya had a smile on his face when he entered in the room where was staying Naruto.**  

**"You two really are a strange pair." .... Sasuke was lying next to Naruto and slept.**

**He took a blanket and covered him and then came down on a chair next to the bed. The next day, early in the afternoon came to Tsunade and Shizune in secrecy.**

**" Where is he?" .... Tsunade did not waste time on the story.**

**"At the hospital!" ..... Hokage told her.**

**As it was very early in the morning, she went silently into the room.**

**Her face danced with a smile: "It's amazing!"....all three were curled up on the bed.**

**Slowly she came to Jiraiya and whispered in his ear: "It's time to wake up!"**

**Jiraiya snapped, and he rolled off the bed.**

**His kick from under wake Sasuke who sleepily watched what was going on and exclaimed: "Tsunade sama help him!".**

**Kakashi and Sarutobi had just entered the room and they looked at again.** **Sasuke lifted from the bed to free the place for Tsunade who immediately set to work.**

**Her face became dark when she realized what it was:" How is this possible?"**

**"Long story, for which there is time but I think for now it should be a priority, as his condition worsens.".....Jiraiya was standing on the other side of the bed.**

**She decided to use the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier (The technique is performed with four separate scrolls and a sample of blood.)**

**To pull nine chakra tails with small changes. Chakra is supposed to stay within the barrier and after a while to return to Naruto.**

**This procedure was attended by Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, Haruzen Sarutobi, and Kakashi Hatake.**

**Kurama was conscious the whole time but Naruto is under the influence of poison was in a coma.**

**He did not resist, and he let him out of Naruto but immediately returned to him:"** **Tsunade ba chan at the right time!" ..... Kurama was pleased.**

**When they were satisfied that the chakras separated Tsunade began with a review and found that Naruto under the influence of a strong poison and began to treat with the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.**

**She did it to extract all poison after a long two hours and Kurama had begun to heal his body.** **The next day they woke up and Naruto tried to stretch but something is pressuring him.**

**He smiled and called: "Sasuke I'm here!" .... put his hands on his shoulders and shook him gently.**

**Sasuke winced and looked at him: "Naruto welcome back! Now everything is fine.".......he falls asleep with a smile.**

**"I'm back! Kurama we went back!" .... Sasuke I was in hell the past six years." ..... whispered and Kurama cast him in a dream.**

****

 

**Office of Hokage**

 

**After a medical procedure Tsunade and the others who were present they returned tired in the office of Hokage.**

**"Can someone point me what's going on here?" ... Tsunade was very serious.**

**Hokage told her everything that had happened.**

**She had closed her eyes: "For God's sake, Kushina and Minato is probably turning in their grave!"**

**"Hokage handed her a letter that Naruto left before going to Root .**

**She read it several times and he kept shaking his head:" This is written Naruto! ".... at to her Sarutobi confirming nod of the head.**

**I have a feeling that Naruto knows what he's doing. When he decided to join the organization root he already had worked out a plan. But how? How a child of seven years can develop such a plan.** **He and Sasuke .... something is strange with them. "....... Kakashi said what he thought.**

**"I fully agree with him!".....Sarutobi put his head at his hands, which were resting on the table.**

**"Their advancement is beyond common sense.".....Kakashi will again:" Their connection and closeness to me is incomprehensible. As if they know a very long time.**

**From where is Sasuke could have known for the nine tails ..... he said he was connected to the fact of eavesdropping of citizens who spoke quietly about Naruto ..... again how a child of seven years it can, where he knows Tsunade .. ... Danzo .... what does he have with them ..... a lot of the little things that have no logical explanation ... "**

**Jiraiya then tells her for Nagato and his message.**

**"We'll wait until Naruto becomes operational again and observe them under a magnifying glass. For now I can not think, because I was tired from the trip and treatment at Naruto." ..... she is stretched, "I need to rest."**

**Then they all went at a break.**


	24. COMEBACK

 

**The next day in the morning she entered the room but she not found Naruto in bed.**

**With her came and Jiraiya** : **"I think I know where he is? He's probably with Sasuke Uciha" .... he smiled.**

  **"Okay! Let's go there!" .....she said.**

**"Wait a minute, I think that they would come to the office of the Hokage!" ..... Jiraiya her stop:" We will be waiting for them there."**

**Naruto decided to live with Sasuke in his apartment. Six years of separation has left its mark on both.**

**"Sasuke, are you sure that I could live with you, '" ...... he had a grin on his face.**

**"Damn Naruto you stole my first kiss! Take responsibility." ..... Sasuke threw a joke.**

**"Ma ma ma Sasuke, it was not intentional but I'll take responsibility!" .....and he began to approach him.**

**"Naruto!" ..... Sasuke was confused.**

**Naruto came up to him and hugged him: "I've missed you! I believe in hell is much better than in the Root. After two years I spent there, I completely forgot about all this. The trainings were deadly. Sparring fight deadly. Hours, days, months and years with Danzo unbearable.**

**I no longer knew whether I was awake or asleep. Damn Danzo! He immediately made it clear that he will take nine tails if I relax for a minute.** **His game was to me a complete incapacity to think. After a while I stopped thinking and I just practiced and practiced until exhaustion. I lost track of time.**

 **Kurama was spending a large amount of chakra to keep me alive. Then came the mission ...... I was started losing his game.** **I lost myself, because to kill someone has become easy and simple. I had to get him to play my game, to gain confidence in me even though I had to lose myself.**

****

**Fortunately Kurama found a solution. When I had a mission Kurama took over my mind. But the situation with Danzo is getting out of control. The Kurama and I started unconsciously change the roles that we no longer know who is who. We both burst into hell, into the darkness.".....** **.....he paused for a moment:"I built two Naruto, black and white has become my reality.**

**I lived in a black and white world without colors, smells and sounds. I've lost my heart! I became a shadow.!".......he clutched for Sasuke.**

**"Naruto, you did not lose heart, because what you pulled on the bridge is evidence that it was you. All you did, you did for us. Sai, Shin is alive, Zabuza and Haku are alive.**

**Naruto what happened with Danzo? "..... he spoke gently and held him tightly.**

**"I've had used the technique of my clan that showed me my grandfather when I was in a parallel world."...... Naruto whispered, "He is to blame for the destruction of Uciha clan and Itachi who gave everything for Konoha."**

**They did not know that someone is listening carefully.**

**"Naruto's time we go to the Hokage!" .... Naruto frowne:"How is the old man?"**

**"He thinks it's his fault that you went to the Root!" ..... Sasuke sighed, "I do not know how to reassure him."**

**"Kakashi sensei has not changed anything." ..... Naruto had a wistful voice: "Damn it!"**

**"Ha ha ha you still love him!" ... he pulled him by the arm and led him out.**

**Naruto wanted to put a mask on the exit but Sasuke stopped him: "Do not, it's time you get out among the living."**

**Naruto was a little taller than Sasuke. His hair was falling out in clumps on the shoulder. Blonde hair had a strange reddish glow. Blue eyes have a deeper glow. The markings on his cheeks were golden. The body was strong in perfect proportions.**

**From him radiated power that caused attention. He was wearing a tight black pants, black vest without sleeves. On the back was styled Uzimaki clan, there was a katana. For belt had less Wakizashi and Tanto, and on his feet were black snadale. On the left shoulder was visible tattoo of Root.**

**Sasuke dressed just the same as a label Uciha clan, instead of the katana had a sword, many small arm-belts adorning his left arm and similar bands around both legs. He was wearing a short blue-clothed forehead protector with the Konoha symbol on the metallic plate.**

**People of Konoha looked over at the blond young man who has attracted attention because he resembled the fourth Hokage.**

**"Damn Sasuke too much we attract attention!" ... to him was embarrassing.**

**"Naruto you attract attention because you look like your father!" ..... he embraced him: "Get out of the shadows"**

**Gai, Asuma and Kurenai were sitting and drinking when they saw the two of them. Asuma and Kurenai followed Naruto, because now they see him for the first time at the light of day.**

**""He really has the features of the Minato but also of Kushina!" ..... Asuma said quietly.**

**"He looks like Minato!" ...... Gai says and then whirled to face them: "His father ..."**

**"Minato" ..... laughed Asuma.**

**"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke is everything all right?" ... cried Asuma.**

**"Asuma sensei do not worry everything is ok!" ..... Naruto smiled with broad smile and waved.**

**"I'm glad he's on our side!" ... Kurenai said quietly: "I still have nightmares!"**

**"I hope that Konoha understand how were wrong about Naruto." .... Asuma sighed heavily.**

**"Who's the blonde?" ..... many wondered.**

**Shikamaru Nara went with his father and he saw Naruto and Sasuke. "Naruto? You're Naruto?" .... stopped in front of them.**

**"Jo, Shikamaru how are you? Long time no see!" .... approached him with a smile and held out his hand.**

**Shikamaru took the hand with a smile and said, "Welcome back!"**

**"I hope we'll see you later! We have to go to the Hokage. I hope that we can see later." ..... Naruto had a grin on his face.**

**"Of course!"......replied Shikamaru.**

**"You grew up very well!" ..... Shikaku said a pleased voice.**

 

**Shikamaru remembered when he first saw Naruto.**

**click**

**There was Shino, sitting alone by the trees. There was Hinata and there was Naruto.**

**click**

**Naruto was watching the game sadly at the sidelines with a mixture of sullen hope and distrust. "Did you want to play ninja with us?".....when I called him the look of joy on his face was kind ofheartbreaking.**

**There was a gasp from behind us** : **" You are going to play with him? Our parents told us to stay away from him!"**

**click**

**Outside the academy building there was a crowd of parents mingling and waiting to pick kids up from their first day at school. I noticed quite a few look at Naruto, before shuffling their kids away from him.**

**It was not quite a glare, but it was dafinetely not friendly. He noticed it too and glared at the ground. I hesitated, then turned to him:"See you tomorrow!"**

**His returning smile was brilliant:"Yeah! We can play ninja again, right'"..... I nodded and ambled off.**

**Dad had most definitely**   **seen our conversation, but I could not tell what he was thinking.**

**"I have met some new people!".....I did not know how than specifying the father to talk about Naruto.**

**"So i saw!"......dad said softly:"Like that blond kid you were talking to?"....he raised his voice.**

**I nodded."His name is Naruto. He is ok. Do you know....people treat him weird."**

**He did not react. He was far, far to good a ninja for that but I think he was still a little surprised.**

**"You should do what you think is right."......he said.**

**After a while he no longer met Naruto. It was only later learned that he reported in the Root. We made our own choices and our own mistakes. Thay letting us think for ourselves.**

**"Dad could you now say why it was forbidden to talk about Naruto." ..... he asked his father when he came out of memories.**

**"I think that the truth will soon come out. Be patient for a while.".....father hit him on the back.**

 

**They knocked on the door of the office Hokage.**

**They heard: "Forward!" .... and they enter.**

**Naruto was amazed, because in the office was more people that had not seen a long time ago.**

**Sasuke caught him and squeezed his arm: "Do not!" ......he whispered softly not letting his hands .**

**Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and Iruka were present.**

**"Long time no see old man!" ..... Naruto's eyes shone heavenly splendor: "I'm sorry, old man, but not your fault." ..... Sarutobi is a two-step was with him.**

**"Naruto!" ..... he had tears in his eyes: "I am happy that you survived Root!" ..... he took his face between his hands and stared into his eyes, "You look like your parents. Both are present here in your face."**

**"Ma ma old man this was my decision. Now everything is okay!" ...... hang up his hands his own: " No one is to blame!" ..... he did not remove the smile from the face.**

**"I'm still old Naruto!" .... he stepped back and made a hand signal.**

**He turns into a beautiful woman wearing a revealing devil's outfit while posing seductively.**

**Sarutobi gets a nosebleed and collapsed while Jiraiya was a head to it and took her in his arms and said, "Be my wife!"**

**Tsunade him also hit in the head: "You will never change! Be serious!"**

**Sasuke and Kakashi were frozen, "What the hell?" .... Sasuke laughed: "You'll never change. Oh, man."**

**Kakashi has already experienced it but now at close range was very lively, "Damn Naruto!"......from his hand drop Icha Icha book.**

**Naruto then uses the same technique and transforms into attractive naked men. Now is Tsunade, acted as Jiraiya.**

**Sasuke laughed as Naruto in a few minutes made a stir in the office.**

**"You're really old Naruto. I'm glad you have not changed. Danzo did not succeed in his plan." ..... that over Naruto face for a moment a shadow passed and he said, "Yea!"**

**Tsunade walked up to him and hugged him: "Welcome back brat!"**

**"Who are you, young woman?" ...... Naruto pretended to be confused.**

**"I'm a legendary Sannin Tsunade and I drew you out of the coma." .... she smiled.**

**"I am very grateful. Thank you very much ba chan" ..... he immediately flashed his mind what kind of blunder made and immediately corrected: "I wanted to tell Tsunade hime!" ..... closed his eyes, expecting to be hit by a finger in the forehead.**

**He opened one eye and looked at her: "Thank kami!" ..... when he was sure that she would not hit him opened both eyes and smiled.**

**"Naruto!" .... all of a sudden will Hokage, "You will be assigned a team of 7, which leads Kakashi. You'll get the Chuunin exam."**

**He turned to Sasuke and asks him who is in the team Kakashi.**

**Sasuke replied: "I, Sakura, and now you!"**

**"Who is Sakura?" .... he asked.**

**"You already saw her. Sakura is a pink young girl who was with us on the bridge. "!" ..... Kakashi said.**

**"I have a question old man. What will happen with the other members of the Root?" ..... he asked the third Hokage.**

**"All of them will go to the correctional exam!" ... said the Hokage."Many of them are loyal to Danzo and he used them to brainwashing. It will take some time before they return to active duties as members of Konoha." .... he said to him.**

**"Tsunade hime, I have one more request. Among them was Shin who is ill. I was able to stop the spread of the disease but it is not yet cured. Please help him. He and Sai are like brothers.**

**The two of them were in the same cell. Before my arrival in Root Danzo has pursued a policy that members of the Root may only be those who have able to kill another member after spending most of the time together. After a while it was abolished.".....Naruto said.**

**Present were taken aback by this fact: "Naruto, Danzo did anything to hurt you?" ..... Jiraiya asked.**

**"I do not know! It was a chance, because some time I did not know where I was. I was in a state between sleep and wake, between imagination and reality. The trainings were deadly and fights between us were covered in blood. It is the world between darkness and light. I do not know! "...... he was conceived.**

**Tsunade and Sarutobi had a dark face."I'm glad he's gone.".....two of them are considered equally.**

**"I'm asking you this because no seal on your stomach." .... Jiraiya was sincere.**

**"The seal is here!" .... he picked up the sweater and the seal was there.**

**Jiraiya knelt and well-looked at him: "What happened then?"**

**"I do not know but I and nine tails we exchanged the role. Probably when my mind and body were badly nine tails took over my mind .... hm, somehow the two of us exchanged rolls. It is a mission that were fatal but had me nine tails protect. Probably when my mind and body were badly nine tails took over my mind .... hm, somehow the two of us exchanged rolls. It is a mission that were fatal but is in these moments of nine tails taking control. I do not have one hundred percent control over it."......** **Naruto explained.**

**It was not true because his mark on his stomach annulled grandfather. He altered the seal and set a new invisible seal that had a different function. It is known only Naruto.**

 

**"Brat, you become better and better actor. I have the best Jinchuriki! Yeah!" .... Kurama satisfied waved his tail in the back of his mind.**

**Naruto went to Iruka senpai who had been a quiet and just watched what was going on: "Iruka senpai can we go to the ramen at Ichiraku?" ...... impatiently waited for a response.**

**"Yea, Naruto I'm sorry. I was wrong but I can still make amends right!" ..... Naruto hugged him: "Iruka sensei two of us might become the best of friends!"**

**"Thank you Naruto!" ..... Iruka was perhaps the happiest among them.**

**"Kakashi you were right!" ..... Iruka said Kakashi.**

**"Probably!" ..... he laughed, holding Icha Icha front of his face.**

** **


	25. DISTRACT

  **One must abide by specific rules when out in the field. Ninja follow this code in order to "kill their emotions," preventing them from running wild and causing the mission to be a failure. The most important thing for a shinobi is to be a tool for achieving their village and country's goals.**

 **Emotions are considered unnecessary things. A shinobi must always put the mission first,** **must never show their tears,** **must see the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings,** **must follow their commander's instructions,** **must prepare before it is too late to and** **shinobi must never show any weakness.**

**Minato explained to his students that while the rules and regulations are important, they are not infallible. A ninja must also know when to bend these rules in order to adapt and cope with the situation.**

**In Naruto's case, he does not believe strictly following these rules will make him a true ninja, and has decided to be a ninja in his own way, by never giving up.**

**Kakashi rules...... In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash and I will never allow my friends to die.**

**"Shinobi world is a mess!"......**

 

**KAKASHI GENIUS**

 

**Kakashi watched Naruta in the office of Hokage. He could not believe how much resembles the Minato.** **On the other hand he watched Sasuke. He looked like a lot at Itachi. Minato and Itachi two characters that have left a deep impression on him.**

 **He blamed himself that he was not able to help either one. He spontaneously decided about protecting Naruto and Sasuke at all costs.** **He knew that the two of them are hiding something important and decided to find out.**

**Since his return Naruto whole time was in their vicinity. The conversation that took place between Sasuke and Naruto in the apartment of Sasuke caused a huge surprise and confusion.**

**The two of them knew more about the mysteries of Konoha than I.**

**"Danzo!" ..... his face at the mention of this name is now dark: "He lied to all of Itachi.... Damn!.... Naruto killed him!.... To hell! The two of them had planned all this.**

**How could they have to know this ? "..... the next thought he did not know what to think ....:"Ha!"....,:"Uh"...,:"No way ."....:" Something is wrong!" ..... :" Curse!" ......:"Naruto is like me. .......the brain of a genius is blocked.**

**After a while he came to himself: "Naruto likes me! ..... no no no ... illusion .... genjutsu ..." Kami help me! ".....:"How?"....:" When?"...:" Why me?".....Kakashi is away for some time...interruption of connections with oneself.**

**Meanwhile, Sasuke and Naruto are in the apartment.**

**"Naruto I recalled something we both forgot. Kurama did not forget anything as we are. What about other legendary beasts? If they are not forgotten, I think they will make a big crowd. Yagura remembers all that and Utakata. It looks like the two of them are ok, but what about the others.** **They will not allow a second time to catch them.". ..... he was thinking.**

  **I and Kurama we have already made a plan about it but Sasuke you forget one thing, Orochimaru. What do we do with him? I think there is no need for you to go with him. The rest can you serve this!" ..... In front of him, he throws a bunch of scrolls.**

**"What is this?" .... Sasuke was confused.**

**"These are the seals, texts of various techniques. While I was on missions all I gathered this along the way. My head is already full of it. I am not carrying out missions only for Danzo, but also for other villages."**

**"I did not ask for money, but technique. I think that this will be necessary, because we are deeply changed the past. From now on we are in unfamiliar territory and everything is possible to happen." ..... Naruto took a deep breath: "If we somewhat hold events that we know i have to learn the Rasengan, Summoning Technique and Sage Mode.**

**You also have a few things to learn. Summoning Technique can now learn before the exam as before and rasengan because Tsunade is here. On the other hand we have already a contract.... I with frogs, and you with snakes.**

**There should be no problem. You decide what we do with Orochimaru. ".... he looked towards Sasuke who was conceived.**

**"I'd like to save Karin, Yugo and Suigetsu Hozuki and somehow be in contact with Kabuto to destroy their scroll and experiments. I need a year to sort some things out. I do not need Orochimaru." ..... says Sasuke.**

**"Itachi?"......Naruto asked:" You know that he is ill.**

**The sooner we act, we can save him. Following the events he should come to Konoha after the exam. "**

**"We figure it out, because there is a period of one month before the final test." ..... Sasuke was given the view scrolls.**

**" Do not worry Sasuke. Itachi will be okay. He's done enough so far." ..... Naruto squeezed his shoulder with a firm decision to save him.**

 

**KAKASHI OPERATIONAL AGAIN**

 

**"Why am I even thinking about it. Ok I do not have the preferences for men, nor have I been thinking about it. When I heard the of course that took me by surprise because I did not expect even in a dream.**

**It is impossible that he liked me, because this is the first time we see. Tomorrow we have a difficult day, I think. "..... Kakashi exhaled but he had a mischievous grin on his face.**

**In the morning, they went to the place of training but both stop by the Memorial Stone.**

**"Sasuke, where are the graves of our parents. Only now I think of it! All right I know my father that does not rest in the grave but what about my mom, your parents." ...... Naruto an inquiring look in Sasuke.**

**Sasuke looked at him in surprise: "...... Now that you mention it, I have no idea." ..... Sasuke has also had question marks in the eyes.**

**"What are you two talking about?" ..... they winced when they heard a familiar voice behind him.**

**Kakashi surprised them but they knew about his little ritual. Every time he was late, he was at the monument and talked with Obito.**

**"We talk about where the graves of our parents?" .... Naruto had a little sad voice.**

**"They were here but I do not know their position. Third Hokage has a plan of the cemetery. It is best to ask him." .... Kakshi said.**

**Sasuke and Naruto are significantly view, because they had something else in mind.**

**"Thanks Kakashi sensei to this." ..... Naruto is through lashes watched Kakashi.**

**Sasuke pulled him by the arm: "It is time to go to the training ground. Kakashi sensei do not be late again!" ..... and they move away.**

**"I will be on time, you two!" ..... he nodded.**

**He really was at the time in which the two of them a shock.**

**"I do not believe it!" .... Sasuke says.**

**"Probably going to rain!" ..... Naruto said and looked at the sky.**

**"I'm sorry I'm late!" .... Sakura came out of breath, "Kakashi sensei is already here! Surely going to rain!".....she was surprised.**

**The three of them looked at each other and laughed in unison.**

**Naruto's Sakura watched with interest: "A long time has passed since I saw her. All over again!" ..... he stretched and took a step back from her: "What is certain, is certain!"**

**Sasuke laughed when he made the move because he knew what he was thinking.**

**Naruto turned to him and said, "This is much safer. Do not laugh!" .... he makes grin on what Sasuke even more smiles while shaking his head.**

**Kakashi and Sakura observed them as if they fell from the sky.**

**"I'm Naruto!" ..... he stretched out his hand to her: "From today I am a new member of the team."**

**"Sakura Haruno, I'm glad!" ..... she looked quizzically at Sasuke and Kakashi.**

**"Naruto was until recently a member of the Root!" ..... Kakashi said, "Third Hokage expressed a desire for him to be in my team, because our team has only two people."**

**She looked at Naruto and said, "You are the one who is causing nothing but trouble now and when you were a child."**

**"I have my name Sakura chan. My name is Naruto Uzumaki!  I'm not a child anymore. I'm a ninja." ..... on his face had a smile.**

**"Surely but you're not better than Sasuke!" ..... she was lovingly staring at Sasuke while he snorted.**

**"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not but I think I'm stronger than you in every way I guess. Sakura chan, Sasuke is strong, I know very well but you are now the weakest link in our team. I think you're far from the ninja. You're just a cute doll, worthless.".....Naruto is her deliberately provoked.**

**Sasuke is curiously watching the behavior of Naruto while Kakashi remained open mouth.**

**"Sasuke!".....she cried, she is expected any help from him but he is just watching.**

**"Do not expect help from him because you started all this. You're convinced that you're a ninja?" .... Naruto is looking at her with ridicule:" At the moment, I am sure that he likes me more than you.".......Sasuke turns red in the face, and Naruto still added:" Our first kiss was a fantasy! "**

**"Well, ...hm...better than a fantasy!" ..... Sasuke quietly said, because he knew that something Naruto trying to perform.**

**In the background Kakashi heavily groaned while trying to figure out their words.**

**Naruto was quiet and he kept his hands in his pockets. His eyes with very dangerous spark were focused on her. Sasuke and Kakashi suddenly calm, their muscles in the body tensed like springs and they expected something to happen.** **Every little more experienced ninja to feel the change at Naruto, but Sakura was Sakura and her thoughts were with Sasuke.**

**Sakura could no longer bear the humiliation of his words and in front of Sasuke. Without thinking leaped forward to him but all of them waiting for a surprise.**

**She did not manage to make a single move but he was already behind her with a kunai on her gargle, "I think you're not even close! What are you going to do now?" ..... he a little more stick blade while his voice sounded monotonous.**

**Sasuke and Kakashi exclaimed, because they are not seen when Naruto went into action. It was too fast for their eyes. Sasuke and Kakashi looked at him wide-eyed.** **From a distance, they looked and others.**

**"I said what are you going to do now? For a second you're dead!" .... he has not changed tone of voice.**

**His chakra is increasing as he grew his intent to kill. She was helpless and her eyes sought any help.**

**Kakashi wanted to jump but Naruto is not looking at him but said with monotone voice: "Do not try!".....and Kakashi stops while he thought to himself: "Naruto what are you trying to do? What the hell is wrong with his voice?".....he felt **goosebumps** prick on his arms and lower back.**

**She heard a voice in her head: "Fight!"......silence that has become difficult under the pressure of his intent to kill  gave her **goosebumps** because she didn't know what to expect.**

**Tears began to prick her eyes as small, prickly **goosebumps**  broke out across her arms and stomach, sending a small, cold shiver through her.**

**"I can not!" ..... she licks her dry lips and faintly utters.**

**"Do you sensei did not learn a damn thing.... I do not believe, why then there's the teacher?" ..... he slowly lowered kunai and stepped away from her, "If you want to be strong, I'll help you, but my way is not for gentle people like you ! You can be sure I'm not like your sensei! ".... his voice was still monotonous.**

**She is lowered trembling body on the floor.**

**"Kakashi sensei, she is your student......in the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. Sasuke is not the only one on your team, each team must have teamwork. .... how I can believe in those who can not look after my back, when they can not defend themselves. "...... he turned and looked at Kakashi in the eyes that were wide with surprise.**

**Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hiruzen have been surprised by him: "He gives a lesson Kakashi ..... but he is right .... Sakura is the weakest link in their team ...."..... they thought .**

**"Naruto!" ..... Sasuke approached him: "For God's sake, he's your senpai!".....he rebuked him with a smile and whispered: "It's nice!"**

**"He's my senpai, I appreciate him and respect, but he apparently neglected some things." ..... Naruto silent gasp.**

**"Kakashi sensei, I must have a hundred percent confidence in my team.... if I can not I rather be alone."..... Kakashi on this quiet moans."**

**"Nop, you will not be alone ... I admit that I let some things and thank you, you reminded me of it! "..... Kakashi rubbed his hand across his neck:" Um, are you all ready for hell?"**

**"We are have already been in hell!" ..... Sasuke whispered.**

**"I can be a strong kunoichi?" .... Sakura looked up at them with determination.**

**"Yes, a very strong kunoichi!" ..... he replied. "but everything depends on you and I like the look in your eyes now!".....he stretched out his hand to her.**

**Sakura just stared into his eyes and she accepted his outstretched hand, "Please teach me!"......he pulled her and lifted off the floor:"The team seven are on their way to hell!"......four of them to this laughed.**

**"The links are bound together!" .... Hiruzen said quietly.**

**"Taijutsu......as the basis of tehnique body movements that will turn, throw or upset the balance of an opponent. Fall and roll safetly, leaping, posture and avoiding attacks.....injury prevention,using the entire body as weapon to strike or block, using escaping from locks, throws, chokes and holds. Principles in actual combat...timing, distance, balance, rhythm and flow.**

**A confrontation is a dynamic, constantly moving process, and to succeed, it is vital to be able to adapt and respond to the opponents changes. In a real situation, speed and power are far less important. Practicing proper taijutsu principles, hard training helps to build the mental and spiritual character necessary to continue in a life or death struggle even if hurt or injured.** **Okay we'll move on taijutsu." .... Naruto her briefly explain."Whenever you're ready! "**

**Sakura: Iron fist punch, tigers paw punch......Naruto: cobra strike punch**

**Sakura: winged horse kick, leaping tiger kick ......Naruto: teeth of tiger throw**

**Sakura: forked lightning kick .......Naruto: dragon'tail throw**

**Sakura: iron fist punch....... Naruto: whirlpool throw**

**It was followed by replacement of the movement. Naruto after each replacement intensified the pace and strength of the blows.**

**Sakura: Dynamic Action......launch herself at the Naruto and then use a barrage of strikes and kicks to confuse and damage him**

**Naruto: Peregrine Falcon Drop...grabs a falling Sakura by her ankles, wraps his legs around her waist, and drives her head first into the ground.**

**Sakura: Crushing Fist palm strikes in Naruto, hurling him away with impressive strength, but Naruto made a somersault in the air and then lay a powerful strike into the Sakura while falling.**

**Sakura groaned while Naruto stood beside her not panting.**

**Her whole body hurt from the beating until he had a smile on his face: "Not bad!"**

**"Why?" ..... she wanted to ask, and the answers to her Sasuke: "You did not once hit him."**

**"How?" .... she was confused.**

 


	26. DIVERT

** **

**"He's a lot faster than you!" .... he answered:" Naruto what about the fight between us?" ...... Sasuke had a grin on his face.**

**"Okay! We did not have long struggled.!" ..... he laughed.**

**"Do not be gentle as you're with her!" ..... he had provoked.**

**"Count on it!" ..... now he had a grin on his face:" Kakashi sensei , Sakura is not safe here!"**

**Naruto and Sasuke a coin with two sides, black - white, yin-yang, a perfect combination of two different fighting style, on the other hand so well they complemented each other. Naruto's through mission collected different fighting styles and created a new style unique to him. Sasuke had initially major problems but Naruto was a good teacher.**

**Telepathically spoke with Sasuke, and the fight soon began. Suddenly the air between them was a storm of metal crashing against metal, each their's hands a blur as shuriken and kunai met one another in mid - air with amazing accuracy, each kunai deflected down to earth by another, each  shuriken sent flying in opposite directions as they crashed into one another.**

**Both kicked against the earth hard, launching themselves through the rain of falling projectiles to attack each other head on.  Sasuke is attack came first, right fist drawn back even before they had closed the distance fully before the punch was aimed for Naruto's face.**

**However, Naruto easy blocked the blow with his opposing forearm,stomping hard on the ground for support before kicking his right leg forward, aiming a powerful kick for Sasuke's ribs. Sasuke ducked in slightly to block the kick with his left forearm, before dropping further, aiming a low spin kick to sweep Naruto's standing leg from under him. He snapped his right leg back, before leaping back, away from Sasuke, jumping above Sasuke's leg sweep.**

**As he back flipped in mid-air, He pulled several more shuriken from his leg pouch halfway through the flip before throwing them at the still ducking Sasuke to stop him from countering. In retaliation, Sasuke quicky drew a kunai from inside his pouch, knocking the singular shuriken that Naruto had deliberately aimed at his leg from mid - air before avoiding the other scattered shuriken, quickly spinning the kunai about in his grip before throwing it at the point where naruto would land.**

**Grinning fiercely, Naruto landed softly and with wakizashi defend and took his taijutsu stance again,readying himself to stop Sasuke's charge. The next minute was a blur of punching and kicking, attack and counter attack as struck out at one another again and again, weapons forgotten as they fought with pure taijutsu.**

**"He is good!".....Naruto realized eagerly, his grin widening even in the face of the fierce adversary as he wrenched his head to the right, narrowly avoiding a powerful punch from Sasuke.**

**Sasuke wasn't holding back in the slightest now, breathing heavily as he exerted as much strength as he could into each attack. Naruto once again avoided his attacks, the blondes own elbow striking out in a counter, forcing Sasuke to take the impact with his forearm in turn, his own arm going numb from the aggressive strength in Naruto's attacks.**

**Naruto wasn't even tiring, his breathing still smooth as instead he was grinning widely as if he was having the time of his life. Shots were thick and fast, the movements of the body, arms and legs were perfect with little difference went to the side of Sasuke. On the other hand is perhaps understandable, because Naruto was not free to missions. His style was the stealth style of fighting from the shadows.**

**Outsiders could no longer tell who is who, the speed and agility of the body on the ground and in the air was amazing. Sasuke still had it planned but did not want to show, because many did not know what Naruto can perform.**

**A succession of blows full hour to soon all the wider area around them became rain of Kunai and shuriken all kinds. Sakura could not believe that Naruto can follow Sasuke. Suddenly they both stopped. Naruto pulled out a katana and Sasuke sword. They looked at each other every now and ready for another long struggle. Silence reigned in the whole area. The sounds are silenced. Observers were losing breath. Energy emanating from the two bodies became unbearable.**

**None of them knew that their fight looks a lot more people. The Third Training Ground has become a battleground. Kurama let his chakra and now they all felt the weight in their bodies and no one could move. All have lost track of time, holding his breath waiting for the start of the battle. The ground beneath their feet is shaking such as shaking their bodies from tension and anticipation. Sasuke had first felt a huge pressure on the mind and body. He could barely stand on his feet.**

**"Sasuke, this is my style of fighting. I'm sorry!" ..... he heard a voice in his mind.**

**"I'm glad you're fighting at full power!" ..... he said to him.**

**Kakashi could not take his eyes off of Naruto. The creature, which was right in front of him was not a human being. His stance was relaxed, the muscles were strained, he was in a state of meditation. Unlike him, Sasuke was tense because of the expected attack. The heart chakra was a wide open and he was breathing freely without any weight in him. Was no longer existed nor a single key and all doors are opened as open lotus flower.**

**His breath became deep, his pulse accelerated and everything was in a steady stream. The mind was dissolved and descended through the bloodstream, all barriers are broken and intermingled in the vast sea of space around him. Sasuke just could not resist the raw chakra that Naruto broadcast of his body and activates Sharingan but Naruto eyes were closed.**

**Naruto took a deep breath and a step forward and slow movement made elengantan bow katana lowering the top down lightly touching the ground. Sasuke attack him. There was a lightning turn and began dancing spiral ripping the air around him. Katana in his hand swiveled back and forth, right and left as if she were alive in the attacks lightning turns. Left hand in severe attacks and defenses supported the right to give it strength, while the right control the shot.**

**Quick steps changed the position of never performing two movements in a row with the same foot that the more confused Sasuke without giving him a chance to surprise attack. His defense was complete. The body was accompanied by wind that is created katana. Katana is spinning in all directions, compressing the air is turned into sound. His movements were so fast that they had a feeling that becomes a vortex because of his move to the katana was firmly under his control.**

**Sasuke is rapidly losing breath, sharingan is somewhat helped managing to follow the speed but the speed was unrealistic. Sasuke stopped for a moment daubting whether to continue a dance. Naruto ran through a couple of steps forward and quick turn in his hands stuck his blade on the other side and do a spiral like a propeller cutting down all around him. Remove the katana in the air and it is rotated around its axis falling in his right hand, but this time upside down. Sasuke all the time just defended and managed to block his blows. But retreated back under the onslaught of strong and powerful strokes made him kneel on the floor.**

**"Damn Naruto I'm out!" .... back fell to the floor gasping for breath with full lungs:" You're a monster with this your stamina."**

** **

**"I'm not done yet!" .... he smiled and continued dancing with katana. ( he continued to struggle with invisible opponents)**

**The rain began to fall lightly. Instantly gripped the katana and point upward, backward thrust the blade armpits compressing drops of rain imagining them as opponents behind. Quickly turned to the attackers who came from behind and spinning katana in all directions followed by the defense. The blade is inserted into the eye level, elbows stretched, rotated katana around the arms and shot at it, repeat the movement by making half turned into eights, crossing all around him. Surprise opponent was at the height, as left and right hand were well coordinated and invincible. The defense and attack were in full compliance even though the blade Katana more sleep than it was in use.  His dance is ended, knees bent in a kneeling position and head slightly forward to make the slope of respect to opponent.**

**The fight with an invisible opponent, was a challenge.  Naruto caught sight Kakashi to himself that he could not take.  He was mesmerized and his entire body vibrated to accept the challenge.**

**Dancing with the katana was the illusion that he wanted to have under its control.  Dancer is a fantasy. Young man in black was overwhelming.  The body was seductive and graceful. But the smile that the young man had on his face was something new, something Kakashi had never seen.**

**The splendor that was in his eyes had a glow of living katana. Bow with a katana was aimed in his direction. The glove is thrown.  All who have observed his dance with a katana remained speechless.**

**For the first time Kakshi felt butterflies in his stomach as he watched Naruto.**

**"Unbelievable! More like a samurai than the ninja. Is that a little loud Naruto."....others commented on.**

****

**Kakashi had sharingan activated and to their surprise with a katana stepped in front of Naruto:"Now you're going to fight me!".....in his eyes was unfathomable glance.**

**Naruto is with both hands took the katana and at the same time as Kakashi started to attack. The shrill sound of metal echoed silence. Kakashi was slightly bit stronger than him, but he resisted and did not stop his attack .**

**Their bodies are touched, and their views were in the same plane. Eye to eye.  Their bodies were in resonance, fighting style was the same, look the eyes was directed. Two hunters simultaneously capture the same prey.  Naruto and Kakashi were Sync, minds were in the connections and drowned at each other now were struggling minds. Tension was at the height of the observers have forgotten to breathe.**

**At the same time the connection broke up their minds, Kakashi remained in the attack, and Naruto decided to defend himself. Naruto jumped back and stood in the position to defend. His attack was powerful because he used all his strength, but he was able to receive the dropping body deeper to the ground clutching chakra in his hands and managed discard it from himself.**

**He should not have let him come closer than it is kept at a distance wielding a katana in all directions. The speed with which he managed the katana was invisible to the naked eye. Katana who was carving the air around him gave a sound which sounded like a howling wind. His attack and defense Naruto were fast and connected. Their minds were operational speed of light.  Kakashi insisted the attack and constantly attacked. Naruto's body was moving fast, following the movements of his body.**

**Pirouettes around its axis and katana which was in all positions not allow the attack Kakashi to come close to his body. Neither of them did not have a weak spot. They were in a deadlock.**

**His chance was to change center of gravity of a katana, because his two hands were equally active.  For a moment he was thrown out of balance, because Kakashi understood what he tries.  On-site Kakashi was a small grin as he managed for a moment that it's balance. Naruto possessed strong concentration and very quickly returned to its original state. Kakashi soon realized that his opponent master of self-preservation, which did not allow any disruption of inner peace.**

**Narto eyes took on a dangerous glow. Again at the same time both launched an attack exchanging blows strong in all directions. The whole training ground was in their possession. Dance, who conducted two exceptional dancers. Tango for two. Beautiful, amazing and unique. Nor Kakashi nor Naruto did not even have one weak spot.**

**Neither one did not want to stop. He let him attack. Naruto expensive chakra below the feet and his body bounced in height and in fast-haul stood behind him. Kakashi was quick, turned to him and his katana cuts a piece of Naruto's hair Naruto let his body fall to the ground out of step and katana suddenly finds himself in the throat of Kakashi. ,**

**However Kakashi would not be Kakashi because Kakashi used the Body Replacement Technique. Naruto as if he expected lightning speed throw shuriken in his direction. At the same time, and Kakashi threw shuriken too.**

**Both katana made a mess of shuriken, Naruto used Shadow Clone Technique. That all were amazed, because the whole area was full of Naruto's clone. Kakashi remain confused and that was enough to make him Naruto caught in a trap.**

**"Ma ma Kakashi sharingan, I think, and you need to exercise." ..... he whispered softly in his ear.**

**   **                                                                


	27. YOU ARE MY

 

 

 **"Shadow Clone Technique! It's jutsu of second Hokage.** **How does he know?".......... observers were confused, because it was forbidden techniques given that hardly anyone could have done.**

**Jiraiya did not believe: "Minato, he will be my disciple. I missed a lot of time with him, but now I will be with him. I think that he will overcome you. ,"......thought to himself Jiraiya.**

**Third Hokage was pleased demonstrated skills of Sasuke and Naruto.**

**"Well, the two of them are great only Sakura different from them. Even though I think she has something to prove. I think I could take her to the students." ..... Tsunade was thinking out loud.**

**"Does that mean you're going to stay a long time in Konoha?" ..... Jiraiya said when he heard her thinking.**

**"Well, I hope so. For now I'm here!" ..... she said.**

**"Naruto, your stamina is on an entirely different level than before." ..... Sasuke hugged him.**

**"If you were passed as I do ...." ..... he was conceived.**

**Sasuke did not let go of his arms, because he knew that his thoughts pass images from Root.**

**"Naruto, I'm sorry I had a bad opinion of you. I'm glad we'll be on the same team. Team seven!" ...... Sakura stood aside.**

**"Sakura not worry, our relationship is just beginning!" ..... slapped her gently on the shoulder:" If Kakashi sensei not kick off better take care of you, me, Sasuke, we will take. ".... he looked in the direction of Kakashi.**

  **"Nee, Kakashi sensei I have a question."......he looked up at him:" I have a nature transformations Wind Release, but I can use the water.** **I think you could help me to learn better control, because in the Root I did not have a chance."......in memory of Root his eyes for a moment to lose luster again.**

**"Naruto fantastic fight. I do not have sharingan I'd have lost ..... um, water ... I think I could help, because I have this affinity. But you'll have to wait a bit, because Jiraiya has something words. ".... kakashi looked at him with a very humorous view.**

**"Hm, Kakashi that you accidentally do not have any dirty thoughts?" ..... Naruto surprised him with that question.**

**Luckily it was the time Jiraiya came to them, but he withdrew with ease: "Damn!"**

**"Naruto!" .... call him aside Jiraiya.**

**"Is something wrong?" ...... he gave him a quizzical look, although he knew what he speak.**

**"You are strong but I have to introduce you to some of the facts." ...... he said: "Listen carefully. You carry nine tails but there is a group Akatsuki who want to get their hands on him. If they make it to the nine tails after draw from you, you will die.**

**If that does not happen, I think you have plenty of room for improvement, you'll be under my control and I'll teach you everything I know. For further details, you'll hear behind the Chunin exams. "........Naruto nodded.**

  **When the confusion and commotion settled Sasuke and Naruto went to the office Hokage. Before they went inside to hear lively discussion.**

**They heard voices Tsunade and the Third Hokage. They heard the Hokage when he said that he wants to advertise the new Hokage. Jiraiya proposed Tsunade to which agreed and Kakashi. Tsunade had refused the offer.**

**Tsunade suffered painful losses prior to the Second Shinobi World War ending. The tragic turn of events began when her younger brother, Nawaki was killed in action the day after his twelfth birthday, receiving their grandfather's crystal necklace which she gave him in the hopes that it would help him achieve his dream of becoming Hokage.**

**In time, finding herself and Dan have similar ideals, Tsunade fell in love with him. As a sign of her affection, and in the hopes that this time it would help make his dreams come true, Tsunade gave him Hashirama's necklace prior to his death, with the necklace returning to her possession, rumored as a cursed item that kills anyone other than Tsunade who wears it.**

**Developing hæmophobia which renders her unable to take part in any more battles, the deaths of both Nawaki and Dan disillusioned Tsunade to see the Hokage title as nothing but a fool's position.**

**Naruto and Sasuke entering in the room. Naruto went to Tsunade.**

**Knowing all these facts Naruto provoked her:"Tsunade sama I want to be Hokage too. This is my village. That's my dream and I will do all that and achieve it. I want to bet with you!" ...... he looked at her with his blue eyes:"We are not eavesdropping but we have heard your interview."**

**She,Third Hokage, Jiraiya and Kakashi looked at him in surprise.**

**Jiraiya was more and more appreciated Naruto.**

**"I do not need to bet. You're going to lose." ..... she did ridicule.**

**Naruto quick steps and a brusque voice spoke in the hand took the necklace that was around her neck: "If I learn Rasengan for one day you will give me the necklace, and say yes to be Hokage."**

**Jiraiya wanted him to stop, yelling, "Minato it took three years to perfect the Rasengan, it is impossible for one day no matter how you been prodigy."**

**He turned to him and said in the same tone: "If I can one day make a Rasengan you teach me the Sage Mode."**

**"Be reasonable, you can not in one day make a Rasengan!" ..... Kakashi said, a little angry.**

**"Kakashi senpai, I also want to learn chidori."......present in the room were secretly watched, because they know for sure that the two of them try something again.**

**Third Hokage gave nod Kakashi and he said Sasuke. "OK! To be interesting and this falls into one bet. One day!"**

**Tsunade is for the moment she saw two favorite character who has lost in Naruto and said, "Okay I accept the challenge!"**

**Sasuke has a smile on his face that he could not hide, because he knew that Naruto does not need to practice what applies to him too. Kakashi is of course caught the smile.**

**The next day before dawn Naruto i Sasuke woke Jiraiya and Kakashi. Kakashi was awake and waiting for Sasuke.**

**Jiraiya did not know what was going on, because he is late drinking in a bar with Tsunade:" For God's sake Naruto I've only just managed to fall asleep."**

**"At Root this is normally the time of lifting and exercise."......he explained.**

**"You must be joking!" ...... he got up and he just shook his head.**

**Outside it was cold but they did not mind. Jiraiya showed him how to make Rasengn and explain to him, and then put on the tree and falls asleep again.**

**"Oh, man!" ...... Naruto sighed and begin our practice.**

**Made him the first time, but he had to act. Practicing all the time without stopping, without food and drink.**

**"I can not believe this young man is not at all a joke." ..... Jiraiya went into town and come back late in the night.**

**When he returned Naruto with a smile on his face holding Rasengan in hand.**

** **

  **Meanwhile, Sasuke is the same as Naruto tried tooth and nail to learn chidori.**

**Kakashi as well as Jiraiya had to do some other tasks, so he left Sasuke and left him alone. Their plan was that the two of them left alone under the supervision of their clones. However, Naruto and Sasuke have seen what lies beneath his plan, but are they really tried and tortured all the scams that two clones that were observed.**

**Jiraiya had met Kakashi in the city and they were held longer than they had planned. When he returned** **Sasuke held chidori.**

**"Nice acting!" .... Kakashi thought to himself.**

**Jiraiya could not get over. He could not believe it but pure fact is there. Naruto Rasengan is made in one day. He informed Tsunade that she lost a bet.**

**Tsunade walked over to Naruto and put him around his neck necklace: "Once again, but this time is the last time all my hope in you brat." ...... she tenderly embraced: "One more time!"**

**After the meeting in the office of Hokage Naruto i Sasuke they go to Ramen Ichiraku, where was Iruka. Iruka honored them with their favorite dishes, for what they were grateful, because they did not have the will to cook dinner.**

**While they were sitting heard the conversation that led a group of chunin and jonin.** **hey talked about Naruto but there was no sympathy in their voices.**

**"Nothing has changed!" ...... he said sadly: "Most of them still hates me! It would be best to leave Konoha!"**

**"Naruto, do not go. They can not accept the fact that you were in the Root. They still do not know that is your father Minato.** **Now you're not alone. You are no longer alone." ..... Iruka said to him.**

**"I know all that, Iruka senpai!" ...... he thought for a moment and laughed: "Maybe now I should go straight to Orochimaru or Akatsuki!"**

**Iruka jumped from his chair: "Naruto! Do not even think about it!" ......he shouted.**

**Sasuke felt the chakra of Kakashi and he knew that Naruto was not serious.**

**He shook his head and continued to eat:" Idiot in love!"**

**"Ma ma ma what happens? What a fuss and uproar? " ..... both jumped when they heard his voice.**

**"To hell Kakashi, do not sneak up from behind." ..... yelled at him Iruka.**

**"I'm sorry Iruka but I'll steal him for a while!" ... pulled Naruto's sleeve with him out there.**

**Naruto did not know what to expect from him, and he wanted to get away but he takes the hand that gripped.**

**Naruto had never seen Kakashi in this state. He was not angry, he was furious. He knew he could not make a mistake. He took him out of town on the training ground.**

**"Not now! I'm not ready to fight him now!" ..... Naruto fought with his mind.**

**"Naruto!" ..... his voice trembled: "Do not forget you're on my team. I will not let anyone hurt you.** **I can not afford to make a mistake again." .... turned to him and took his face with both hands, "You are mine now!" .... he bent down and kissed him with a mask on.**

**Naruto spread across his eyes and looked at him with a mixture of feelings that shock even Kakashi.**

**"Kakashi!" .... Naruto whispered softly in a voice that would melt a stone.**

**Kakashi felt a vibration in his stomach as electric tingle. Blue eyes in the darkness took on all the starlit sky and the moon that Kakashi could see himself in his eyes.**

**"For crying out loud!" ...... Kakashi not to lose yourself in an instant disappears in front of Naruto.**

**On the face he has a mischievous grin: "You're going to stay with me! Mission complete!"**

**Naruto remained confused with his mouth open, "What just happened here?"  .... touched lips and began to laugh out loud, "Damn Kakashi!"...on his face show the same grin."Mission complete!"....and continue to laugh.**

****


	28. FACE BEHIND THE MASKS

****

 

**Kakashi returned to the apartment. He himself was not sure why he acted so as to act.**

**"Damn!" ..... Kakashi was angry as a dog."I'm a pervert! I need to stop reading this book of Jiraiya.".....he removed his mask and looked at herself in the mirror.**

**Touched with the fingers of his lips that have touched the lips of Naruto" For God's sake, Kakashi, you're falling into the trap!"...trying to figure out why he was kissed Naruto when there were more options.**

**"I committed a crime! .... Or I did not ...." ..... he was looking for a solution to find a way out of the trap" Aaaaaaa, I have to forget what happened for now, because I have a bigger problem.".......he was frustrated.**

**He knew that Sasuke and Naruto are hiding something important from all of them. He began to think unconsciously keeping a finger on his lips. He took the paper and the order began to write as at the two of them stood out as normal.**

**"Letter .... no chance of him he could write,**

**Plan to report on the root ....... impossible**

**Knowledge of nine tails ...... maybe but it is under suspicion**

**The technique and progress with the two of them ...... amazing**

**Sharingan ....... how**

**strong connections between them ....... unthinkable**

**Danzo and Itachi ..... knowledge secret in Konoha that I do not know**

**He knows me, because he's in love with me, but we first saw in the hospital room ...... very, very suspicious**

**Chidori and rasengan learned in one day ......unlikely**

**my words .... from where**

**Yagura.......???????**

**Knowing Tsunade for which they could not hear or know ......".......he strained brain and came to the same conclusion as before.**

**"Time travelers!"......he has moved on in the mind:" If they are really time travelers from which they come time and why they came to this time ...... can not figure out how and when ..... maybe it was the kind of jutsu for which we do not know .... ..the only thing I'm sure that they do not belong to this time but how to figure out what they conceal and why .....".....he wrote his thoughts down on paper and put it in the pockets of jackets: "This will give Jiraiya, Tsunade and the third Hokage ..... maybe they can penetrate into their secret .... especialy Jiraiya."**

**He was tortured with another thing:"When it became known that the Naruto killed Danzo , there would be panic and again he would be charged what I can not allow that to happen.** **If it is true that Danzo guilty of the massacre Uciha clan should correspond but if it is a secret between the two parties it is impossible to find out, and they know.**

 **This time!......** **The future! ....** **Naruto and Sasuke are time travelers....but both have been there all the time. Third Hokage had them under surveillance.".....h** **e could not think anymore and he came out and went to the memorial monument.**

**"Obito, Rin what to do? How to make them talk to? Probably no chance! If they can talk probably would have asked for help from someone, only if they are not allowed to talk but who could have stopped them? "....... Naruto and Sasuke are very cautious but they can at all times be on guard.**

**Eventually they will to loosen only if it is a much bigger at stake. I will observe them for a while. Naruto is another problem.** **I was lost for a moment when I heard that he might go to Orochimaru. It might not be wise to do what I did but at that moment it was all okay.**

**Save him and Sasuke is a priority. "..... he decided to go back in his apartment.**

**The following days were within the exercise. Kakashi has worked with Sakura and preparing it for the Chunin exam. Naruto her way gave a list that might help her in promotion, training list that was used for the female members of the Root. Naruto and Sasuke have worked together way helping Sakura. While they were on the training ground approached them Jiraiya.**

**"Naruto that you know how to use chakra nine tails?" ..... asked him on in front of them.**

**Sasuke paused a moment and looked in Naruto worried. Kakashi caught the look and switched to Naruto. Naruto was conceived and as if he was not present. Naruto spoke with Kurama in the background of his his mind.**

**"Nine Tails, who is it? ".....Sakura asked, surprised.**

**"Sakura.... Naruto is a Jinchuriki.".....Sasuke said.**

**"Jinchuriki?".....she was confused.**

**"Power of Human Sacrifice are humans that have taild beast sealed within them. They exhibit extraordinary powers due to the immense chakra reserves they possess.**

**" **Chakra Monsters** " are the nine titanic living forms of chakra created by the Sage of six paths. They are differentiated by the number of tails they have, ranging from one to nine."......Jiraiya explained.**

**"I know, but not all the way!" ..... Naruto interrupted them without looking toward Sakura.**

**"Can you show me?" ...... he asked him.**

**Naruto is offset away from them and stood still to concentrate. Soon around him was red cloak that was like a whirlwind.** **Nine tails slowly let go chakra and appeared for the first tail until the fifth when Naruto began to change. Slowly he took the form of nine tails.**

**His eyes become blood red, arms and legs have become legs are beasts with claws, his face was unrecognizable. Before he was supposed to get out of control Jiraiya stopped him with a seal.**

**Sasuke was not surprised but he had pain in his eyes when Naruto has become a beast.** **Kakashi could not believe nor Sakura how many were damaged his body after returning to normal.**

**"Why?".....she whispered: "Why ....?" ..... her tears sliding from her eyes.**

**"Because of their immense power, the tailed beasts were sought out by humans to be used as weapons in times of war.".....Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder, and he gently squeezed.**

**"Weapons in times of war?.......but....".....Jiraiya and Kakashi to this are nothing to answer, they were silent.**

**Kakashi took him in his arms and moved to Tsunade to heal him.**

**Naruto was lying in bed and talking to Kurama: "Damn Kurama I forgot what it looks like!"**

**"I'm sorry brat but in this case there is no help! "..... Kurama replied.**

**"Do not worry! I'll soon be on the feet, nine tails will quickly heal my wounds. " ..... he said with a smile audience around his bed.**

**Kakashi, Sakura and Jiraiya were surprised as he can laugh. Kakashi had a strange feeling. He did not like to watch Naruto in this state.**

**"Kakashi do not worry, I'm fine. That's me! I do not blame anyone for this, especially not my dad or my mom. This is my Kura....cross to bear." ...... he said quietly , thought to herself: "I hope they will not pay attention to my blunder."**

**"Can I do something to help," ..... Sakura had tears in her eyes, because she had not like to watch Naruto in this state.**

**"Sakura, why do not you ask Tsunade hime to be her student?" ....Sasuke said suddenly , on that Naruto smiled and said, "Try Sakura, you can do it!"**

**Jiraiya nodded while Kakashi was surprised. "Again, they're doing it."**

**"Oh man I'm hungry!" ..... heard from his stomach to screaming.**

**"Someone's hungry?" ..... Iruka came bearing portion of ramen.**

**"Iruka sensei you are my savior!" ......cried with satisfied voice Naruto:"But I can not eat. My hands are in the curve."**

**"I have to go to class! I'll see you later."......Iruka drop bowl on a table next to the bed.**

**Sakura left the room and went to Tsunade.**

**Jiraiya it also leaves room under the pretext that he has a meeting with the third Hokage.**

**"Kakashi sensei, please take care of Naruto!" ..... Sasukne disappears in the form of fog.**

**"Sasuke!" .... Naruto yelled for him but to no avail: "I'm sorry Kakashi senpai. I'm really hungry!" ..... he watched with sad eyes in a dish at the table.**

**"Ma ma but you afraid of me?" ..... Kakashi walked slowly toward his bed.**

**"Nop, not afraid!" ..... he said, blushing slightly.**

**He sat down next to him and help him in the feeding.** **At one point, Naruto escape thoughts of the future, where he was with Kakashi in connection.**

**Uncontrolled tears sliding from his eye: "I'm sorry! I do not know ...." ..... tears suddenly flowed in streams.**

**He put his arms around his knees and put his head down crying. Feelings are suddenly erupted out of him. Six years in the Root was an eternity. The pain he endured and bore, care for Sasuke and everyone else, the weight a burden on his back was too heavy. He broke into a million pieces.**

**"I was right." ..... Kakashi drew him up in his arms firmly holding him: "Naruto!" .... whispered softly in his ear: "Do not worry, I'm here!"**

**Kakashi fell into thinking:" If they come from the future probably were older. Now they are still children with thinking of adults.**

**I do not know what happened in the future, but for them ..... now I understand the connection between them ...... we are for them foreigners, and on the other friends .....**

**They have been through things that are now again repeat......go back in time and alter it but at what cost ..... something happened in the future .... something .... "...... Naruto in his arms calmed but was not yet ready to separate from him ...:"Really he loves me there is no doubt! If we were together in the future, it must be now for him is hell .... I have feelings for him but he is still a child ..... I can not .... damn it all ..... "... Kakashi was torn thoughts when he heard a voice.**

**"Kakashi I'm sorry, I'm still not strong, I am weak. I understand everything, but ....." .... looked up at him and with his hand touched his face and lightly finger passes over his mouth covered with a mask and hand fell back: "I'm fine now!" ..... blue eyes like the sky took on a heavenly glow and smiled: "Maybe sometime, somewhere ..... tomorrow is another day! "**

**Kakashi let him go and he went back to bed, "Tomorrow is another day!" ... he repeated and Kurama cast him in a dream.**

**Sasuke stood in the doorway watching the scene, and then went to Kakashi and touched him with his hand on the shoulder: "Now I'm here. Do not worry about us! We'll be all right." .... Kakashi watched Sasuke who had a gentle look wiping tears from Naruto faces: "We will be fine!"**

**Kakashi left the room, leaving them alone and glanced behind him. Sasuke lay down next to him and hugged him: "We'll be okay!" ..... Kakashi shut the door at his words.**

**He shut the door but could not make a step forward and leaned on them.**

**He looked down at the hands that held Naruto and squeezed them, "I'll find a way to find out what you're hiding! You guys crossed the border over which there is no return. You were willing to pay the price and go back to the past .... It is perhaps time for me to cross the border too. "**

 

****


	29. CHUNIN SELECTION EXAMS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fu kunoichi from Takigakure

****

**The rest is just a few days before exams.** **Team 7 had a strong teachers. Kakashi, Jiraiya and Tsunade. Tsunade has been under a veil of secrecy. She took advantage of training terrain with Sakura underground Konoha.**

**Jiraiya and Kakashi were outside Konoha with Sasuke and Naruto. They are practiced in combination Sasuke, Naruto against Jiraiya, Kakashi. Two teachers were sure that they pass onto the exam, but they are preparing them for future battles.**

**The night before the exam in the apartment of Sasuke two of them talked.**

**"The past has changed drastically!"....Naruto began a conversation but before that he made barrier because the conversation is supposed to stay between the two of them.**

**"Zabuza and Haku, Shin and Sai ... I changed their future. Danzo will not make any problems. I'm a bit afraid of how it all turned out for our return to the past." ..... Naruto was serious.**

**"Our progress has no limit." ..... Sasuke said quietly:"I've heard of Jiraiya that you had a meeting with Nagato and that he asked for a meeting with him."**

**"Really!" ..... Naruto looked at him quickly:" The past has changed ..... we'll see how it turns out!"**

**"Tsunade after the exam to become the fifth Hokage.".....Sasuke said.**

**"While I was on longer missions, I managed to put seals on the graves of those people who has revived Kabuto. I was lucky to find the positions of their graves. You have no clue what you get in return after a mission that had no connection with the Danzo.".....Naruto said.**

**Naruto and Sasuke were in doubt. Everything has changed. They were no longer sure of theirs actions.**

**"Naruto I do not like this at all!" ..... Sasuke was concerned.**

**"No I do not like too!" ... Naruto agrees with him: "Everything is going smoothly and without major problems! Nothing was the same. "**

**"When there are problems, we will resolve them gradually. We are no longer weak shinobi. But tomorrow is the day ...." .... Sasuke paused.**

**"Gaara and Orochimoru ....!"......Naruto finished:" We will see tomorrow how things will develop."....Naruto removed the barrier.**

**Kakashi smiled: "Barrier, now it is certain that they have a secret. You two brats do not know who you're dealing with."**

 

**The next day they checked several times their equipment. When they were assured that everything was in place they went to the place of examination. Kakashi followed them from a distance.**

**He noticed a change in their behavior. They became nervous and they were not separated as if they were expecting something to happen.**

**They passed the place where they first met Gaara but now the place was empty:" Sasuke.....?"**

**"I noticed Naruto...... Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi ...... you have not met with them yet in this time."......Sasuke said quietly.**

 

**They came to the exam among the last. In the lobby they met Sakura in the company of other candidates from Konoha. Sasuke joined them, because he knew them and hung out with them, while Naruto stayed behind alone, because he did not come to meet them in this time.**

**There was no connection between them. Naruto felt a chill. Kakashi watched him carefully. He noticed that he was shaking as he came to an important conclusion.**

**"I have no friends in this time!" ..... his mind run free.**

**That knowledge has shocked him. He paled and for a moment he departed from them. Kakashi was surprised when he saw the tears on his cheeks.**

**"Naruto is not going according to plan right?" ..... could not take his eyes off him.**

**Sasuke turned around and looking at him surprised that he is not with them, when he suddenly realized what was the matter:" Naruto, damn it all!"**

**Shikamaru looked at Sasuke and he noticed Naruto.** **"Naruto!"......he invites him: "Join us!"**

**Naruto wiped his tears and he passed them slowly while they watched him.**

**He noted that they are whispering but he ignored.** **"Hai, Shikamaru, Choji." ..... he greeted them, and others he just nodded with a smile while around him Sasuke draped an arm and squeezed his shoulder.**

 

**Fu**

 

**"Naruto!".....he heard a gentle voice that called him.**

**He turned toward the voice and remain surprised, then shouted: "Fu!"**

**Nobody moved from the present, but they just looked petite, androgynous, tan-skinned kunoichi who wore an orange clip in her short, spiky mint green hair that matched her eye color, which was also orange.**  
**Her ninja outfit consisted of a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it. Her forehead protector was worn on her right arm.**

**Kakashi was confused, surprised, as well as Sasuke.**

**The two of them while watching, then Fu lunged toward him, and she jumped into his arms.**

**"Naruto, long time no see! I am glad that you can now get to know. "......she appeared to be rather cheerful with a happy-go-lucky and somewhat carefree disposition,**   **Kakashi was thinking about her.**

**Naruto gently ran a finger across her face. "Me too Fu!" .... he looked at her with a tender look.**

**"Sasuke, Sakura This is Fu, kunoichi from Takigakure and the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails. "..... Naruto introduce them under his breath, that him does not hear the others.**

**Naruto then pulled her by the hand to the others, and he introduce them to her.**

**"Naruto, I will not be on the exam. I just came to say hello." ..... Fu said quickly.**

**"Fu, we'll see you later after the exam. You can stay with us!" ..... he smiled and he sees Kakashi a little away from them in the company of Asuma and Kurenai. "Kakashi senpai, please keep an eye on her!" ..... he turned back to her and said, "Do not worry, I believe him as himself."**

**Asuma and Kurenai watched with interest in Kakashi:" Kakashi, your armor front of him shatters into a million pieces."......he is slightly flushed.**

**"Do not worry, and your armor will fall before him." ..... Fu laughed and she grabbed Kakashi's arm: "You will be my friend, do not you!"....Kakashi smiled and he confirmed her nod of his head as she thought, "Another odd fellow!"**

 

**The first exam is a written exam. Ibiki was the leader of the first exam.**

**Naruto easily resolve issues and through telepathy, telling them the answers ( Sasuke and Sakura ). Everything else was the same.**

**Within the ten question he reacted as before except that he left out a word Hokage. Sasuke looked at him in surprise.**

**Ibiki watched sheets with answers and was surprised with three sheets that he separated from the side.**

 

**The second exam was in the area of Forty-Fourth Training Ground, Forest of Death, was hosted by Anko Mitarashi.**

**Before they came to the field he calls Sakura and Sasuke from the side.**

**"Sakura do not be separated from us. This is not an easy test, because it can always happen something unexpected. Please!"......he gives her a warning.**

**"Stay with me!" .... Sasuke said quite seriously.**

**Sakura nodded, because she felt that the two of them very tense.** **Sasuke and Naruto have made a departure from her telling her that she wait for them.**

**"Let me handle this part!" ..... Naruto said quietly.**

**"How do you think you're going to overcome Orochimaru?"......Sasuke was concerned.**

**"In the same way that I got the deal with Danzo but what you see you let it stay between us." .... he smiled.**

**Fu welcomed them in front of the Forest of Death, where is held the second part of the Chunin exams.** **Kakashi was confused when he heard word  "Orochimaru".**

**"They know him. But what does Orochimaru with this exam." .... and him flashed in the brain, "Sasuke! ....Sasuke is in danger."**

**Third Hokage through a glass globe followed Kakashi and he heard what he said and others present in the room.**

**"How can I help them? With him not to play because he is a dangerous opponent." .... Jiraiya became restless.**

**Third Hokage thought: "We do not know when he will appear as what they know. If we intervene now we will have to stop this examination. I will here give a lot of the trust Naruto! Maybe we'll find out what happened to Danzo."......now he's glass globe, focused on Naruto.**

 

**When they entered the field Naruto make the parr of clones. Tried both of them that accidentally here not to disturb the sequence of events.  One of Naruto clones are separated from them. This clone is supposed to solve the snakes while the real Naruto stayed with them.**

**Soon appears before them Orochimaru who was momentarily confused, because the blond was not supposed to be with them. The two of them did not succumb to the murderous instinct that came from him.**

**Another surprise for Orochimaru. While all the attention from Orochimaru focused on them other clones took positions around the site of conflict. Naruto was obscured by the body of Sasuke.**

**Observers are only able to see the real Naruto from behind. Naruto knew that Orochimaru immune to poisons but if he paralyzes the body and injected a large dose of poison, Orochimaru would for a moment stopped to function as it was sufficient for him to use the seal of the Uzumaki clan.**

**Before going to play action, Kurama has aligned its activities with Naruto creating a shield of chakra emanating clean energy, causing a disturbance acting on the glass ball. Observers are no longer able to see anything.**

**At the same time the clones are thrown metal pins with poison, Sasuke threw a ton of shuriken while Naruto created ahead of Orochimaru and slammed his hands in front of him on the ground, making the seal.**

**On the left little finger of Orochimaru slipped Light blue ring. Naruto picked it up and put it in a small backpack strap.**

**Sakura could not believe it when Orochimaru disappeared in a cloud of smoke, while Naruto holding a scroll in his hand who disappeared in the flames.**

**"Naruto, what kind of a seal that you used?" ..... Sasuke was surprised.**

**"I'll explain later!" .... and a slight displacement of the head pointed to Sakura.**

**In a very short time they had a two scrolls, and the third was in their possession very quickly.**

 

**Meanwhile patrols which monitored the exam they discovered three bodies. When Anko saw them she knew who did it and made the alarm. Soon appeared cursed mark on her shoulder. She were soon found of two Anbu member who helped her to switch to Tower.**

**"There is something I must report!" .... one of the observers examine rushed into the main room where she was.**

**"What is it? We are in the middle of an important meeting." ...... she was angry.**

**"Take a quick look at this!" ..... soon saw the video that showed a photo of the team with Gaara who demolished the previous record.**

**"The three shinobis from the sand country have passed the second test in only 97 minutes. This has never happened before ... it is very abnormal ..." ....comment present.**

**However they were waiting for another surprise. Another videotape showed Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura with the same time.**

**Anko went to the office of Hokage to inform him about the events. When she handed the report, the third Hokage gets to her, "Anko show me the place of the damned seal on your shoulder."**

**She shows him the shoulder but seal was gone at that point: "As I assumed, Orochimaru was no longer among the living!"**

**All were silent and wondered: "What's going on here? We may have influenced with  genjutsu!"**

 

 **The third part of the exam was almost the same but with some changes.**  

**The first fight  Hinata Hyuga .... Neji.**

  ****

**Despite being outmatched and having her chakra cut off, she continued to fight. Neji was surprised when she refused to give up, even  becoming enraged when she accused him of being the weak one who fights what he is.**

**But before Neji started in the last attack, Naruto create next Hinata. He instead Hinata get hit.**

**"Neji, you idiot!" .... Naruto yelled loudly. "Hinata was not guilty of anything!** **Nothing is certain. The destiny can be changed. You're an arrogant idiot.** **Who gives you the right to, you rise above the rest. Get out of the cage of hate."** **"...... Naruto turned away from him and took Hinata in his arms:" Hinata all OK. You're strong** **and you never forget it. Nothing is certain! "....he watched Hinata gently then called Kiba who was surprised but still comes to them."Take care of her!"...set her in his lap,and then turned to Neji: "You can be free, do not let hatred tied to the past."......caught his breath.**

 **Neji was confused and surprised as everyone else.** **When Neji came to himself he went to attack him but Sasuke and Kakashi are instantly come to him and the stop him.**

**"Neji we will fight when it comes our turn, keep hatred until then!" ..... Naruto are back among the observerson on what Sasuke smile:" Neji you're going to lose! "**

**Kakashi thought to himself: "Again!"**

**Kurenai, Asuma and Gay watched Naruto and asked: "Why?".....i** **t had the same question everyone else .**

 

**The following fight was Gaara against Rock Lee.**

 

****

****

****

****

**Naruto was unable to talk to Gaara. He observes and follows every movement of Gaara. He wanted to figure out whether his behavior is different from before. Shukaku, should remember events from before.**

**When he jumped help Hinata Gaara has turned full attention on him. Gaara had a feeling that he knew the blonde, but did not know from where. He had dreams that could not be classified anywhere and it is thought that by Shukaku wants to go crazy.**

**His gaze is directed toward Gaara has not escaped not Kakashi not others who watched the video and wondered what kind of techniques have shinobi from the country of sand when they are without a shred of dust or injury in a short time completed the exam.**

**Naruto smiled and nodded his head: "Maybe, maybe it's different with him now?" ..... Naruto thought for a moment.**

**When Gara stood nasupret Lee, Naruto shouted: "Gara, compliments Shukaku!".....** **Gaara is lightning speed turned and looked at him.**

**"Hay, Tanuki!" .... Kurama greeted Shukaku.**

**Shukaku in his mind drop squeaky voice. "At last we meet, a fox!"**

**You could see from afar that Gaara is shaken. To him was not clear that someone on the side knows that he is Jinchuriki. He on the surprise present activates the sand of which makes the hand with which he grabbed Naruto around his waist and he put it down to him. Naruto did not move but he had a smile on his face.**

**Naruto hugged him with his hand around his neck and he pulled it toward him: "Long time no see, Gaara!" .... whispered in his ear with a very soft voice." You're not alone, I am the same as you, I am the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Kurama. My name is Naruto. Shukaku was sealed in you!" .... Naruto had a sad smile.**

**"Hay, Tanuki, mister nine, do not forget about me!" .... Chomei greeted the two of them.**

**Gaara turned to Fu and he pulled her to him."Long time no see!".....Fu said.**

**Gaara then forms a dome of sand.**

**It was created a stir, but Sasuke is lowered to the dome and cried: "It's all right!"**

**Beneath the dome led to a conversation.**

**"Finally! I was trying to keep him somewhat under control, because he did not trust me." ..... Shukaku complained.**

**"Do not complain! No one remembers nothing, except Naruto, Sasuke and possibly nine us. Well, I'm glad you're somewhat on good terms with Gaara." ..... Kurama waved their tails in the background.**

**"Naruto! I'm sorry but I have to ask! We've met somewhere! I have a strong feeling that we were on good terms but I can not remember, it's all a blur. ".... he mused aloud:" I do not k** **now whether it was a dream or really happened "**

 **"Gaara, wait a minute!" ......** **Kurama, can you help me to Gaara See my memories."......Naruto is inserted into a conversation between them and added: "I'm glad Shukaku to see you again!"**

**Naruto spoke with Kurama, and Kurama with Shukaku.**

**Through thought of Gaara passed the memories in flashes.**

**Gaara watched the image in his mind: "So, the picture that I saw in my dreams were right. You were real too, Naruto ... You saved me again. I thought I would go crazy, because this idiot .. .. I'm sorry Shukaku, in these words ... but you really went too far."**

**"Idiot!"......Kurama and Chomei laughed.**

**"Do not blame me, blame the Hagoromo, the Sage of the Six Paths. He is to blame for this." .....Shukaku said while he waved his tail.**

**Shukaku through telepathy show interview Hogoromo Ōtsutsuki to which he remained confused.**

**"We have returned from future in the past. We did not come back this much back but apparently something happened and now we are where we are."...Kurama him briefly explain.**

**Gaara was puzzled: "Naruto, why do not you use your voice?"**

  **"The limit applies to me and Sasuke, but not to him. In this way, I did not break my promise."......Naruto explain.**

**"I've chosen a different way now. I know that Gaara is not bad Jinchuriki. I did not make trouble. His father is a man of terror." ..... Shukaku said.**

**"Gaara, I'll meet you later. We have things to talk about and do not hurt Lee as before." ..... Naruto held out his hand.**

**"Gaara, withdrew the sand and took the hand of Naruto's grip in:" Do not worry, now has almost all fallen into place! "**

**The crowd was speechless not realizing what had happened.**

**Third Hokage had a smile on his face: "Minato, you must be proud of him now."**

****

  **Gaara this time he did not use Shukaku, but he won because he knew all the moves of the Lee.**

  **To the surprise of Temari and Kankuro who asked." From where Gaara knows this blonde? "**

 

**Next fight was Sasuke against Yoroi Akadō**

** **

**With sharingan and knowledge of the movements of opponents Sasuke is readily and easily took the win.**

 

**Kiba against Naruto**

** **

**Which was solved in two moves. They both stood in the position to fight and it was given the start for the fight. Naruto has created a single clone who attacked Kiba.**

**The real Naruto threw out the metal needles with high precisiont hat have paralyzed Kiba.**

**The next move was when Naruto created behind him and hit him on the neck and Kiba fainted. It was done so quickly that many did not know what happened.**

 

**Next fight is a fight Sakura against Ino.**

** **

**Sakura was finally won, because its blow was much stronger than before and punch-resistant doubled.**

 

 **When the fighting was over, all participants have to find in one place.** **Sparks flew between Sasuke and Sakura.**

**Naruto watched them with a smile: "Finally!"**

**Team 7, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uciha and Uzumaki Naruto goes to the finals under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake results were published at the end of the second round of examination.**

**Of the other teams in Konoha passed Neji Hyuga, Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame.**

**Gaara, Fu they met with others. Fu was in a cheerful mood, because with Naruto and Gaara she was happy.**

**"Sakura can we see you later!" .... asked Sasuke.**

**"Of course!" ..... she looked at him with some surprise.**

**"I'll come and get you!" ..... waved her and came to Naruto: "Do not say anything!"**

**"Sasuke I'm glad that I can finally see you together!" ..... he laughed.**

**The four of them went to the river while they watched from afar Kakashi but he was stopped by the Gay and Asuma who congratulated him .**

**"I'll see you later, I have to see Sasuke and Naruto. I'll meet you later." ........he walked away from them with the greeting.**

**"I think he has changed." .... Asuma said, "All the time is with them."**

**"I do not know but since Naruto left the Root everything just sort of takes place quickly. I know that the Root has a heavy training but Naruto has advanced the speed of light. I suppose that he hides more than he shows, Sasuke has changed, Sakura has changed, and with them Kakashi too.** **Naruto is a strange creature. "..... Gay said.**

 

**On the bank by the river**

 

**Meanwhile Gaara spoke with Shukaku. Together they remembered the past, memories are returned and slowly Gaara grabbed new wind.**

**Shukaku is thinking: "Ha, now I have a real Jinchuriki. Fox is not the only one who's changed."**

**"Gaara!".....from thinking them awake voice of Naruto.**

**Gaara was silent except for the tears that had rolled: "Naruto, I'm glad we're back together!" ..... hugged Naruto tightly, Naruto hugged him with a smile: "I'm glad Gaara!" "Sasuke!" ..... Gaara spoke to him:"I hope the two of us we will become friends! "**

**"Fu, now we can be friends and get to know! ".....Gaara embraced Fu.**

**"But Gaara will not be easy to keep a secret. The past is deeply changed. Not even we ourselves do not know how the situation develops, but you can bet I will not allow a repeat of what happened!" ...... Naruto's eyes took on luster stormy sky."**

**"It's getting late! We need to talk how we will proceed further. ".....Sasuke thought.**

**" Sasuke if you agree Gaara can fit with us! ".....Sasuke nodded.**

**Kakashi was surprised with developments: "It looks like Gaara with them, but how? Who is Gaara?"**

**Sasuke say goodbye to them, "I have a meeting with Sakura!"**

**Gaara said, "I have to report Tamara and Kankuro not to worry about me."**

**Naruto was left with Fu. They sat down next to the river without thinking about anything. They watched the river flowing who knows where.** **They watched the sunset,they did not speak but had a smile on their faces. Words were not needed.**

**The breeze was rising from the river and it became cold but he did not feel.**

**"Fu, will you dance with me? "..... she nodded.**

**Sounds and the colors around them have disappeared. They was alone but they did not mind. Around them, everything was gone.** **Simply drowned in space. In this area thay had become the masters.**

**He and she did not know when thay got up from the floor and began to move to the rhythm of the space that only them heard. The moves were connected into one unit, and between them there was no interruption.**

**The movements have followed the river in slow motion. He performed kate movements in karate from start to finish, and there were 65th. Fu followed him**

**The movements were getting faster and stronger as it is repeated from the beginning. Kakashi watched them while he was holding Icha Icha book in front of his face.**

**After a while he watched only them.**

**"Damn, this kids is perfection!" ..... he was again in his stomach felt electric sparks while he watched Naruto.**

**The elements of defense are elements of attack, and the goal is automatism. Kakashi knew that this perfection is not accidental. Long exercise, knowing kata he scored perfection defense and attack in battle, because his movements conditional -without participation will, accidentally, spontaneously, all the lies in his subconscious.**

**But he was not the only one who watched them. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji Akimichi with Asuma were returning home when they saw them beside the river.**

**"What are they doing?"..... asked Choji.**

**"They exercise kate, movements in karate." .... explain Asuma.**

**"How troublesome!" ..... Shikamaru commented.**

**"The three of you .... how do you think he has become strong?" ...... Asuma smiled admiringly watching Naruto.**

**"Every move he performs is perfection. Complete his body, the mind is connected with the space. This is just one of the skills he has mastered. While you guys complain about practicing he for six years every day practicing.**

**From what I hear he can run more than 200 miles, and can do physical training for more than 20 hours per day. How much can you? "..... Asuma asked them.**

**"We did not like him!".....Ino said.:"But this young girl is the same kind as he is. "**

**"I know, but you go on a mission and you can die any moment! He and she are strong and they can protect themselves and others, and you? Ninja Life is very short! He knows it very well." .... Asuma was angry with himself.**

**Kakashi was listening to the conversation: "Short is the life of a ninja, every minute they can die." .... he kept repeating to himself, "He can not die! I'm not going to let him."**

**Naruto and Fu came out of meditation and he sighed: "For today it was enough. Yaix already dark. We got to go!" ...... he saw others on top of the shore and waved to them.**

**"Asuma sensei, Shikmaru, Ino and Choji I'm glad to see you! "...... watched them with a smile.**

**"Naruto nice training!" ..... Asuma said.**

**"This is nothing!" ..... laughed cheerfully: "I have to go! See you!"**

**"Naruto, can we meet tomorrow?" ..... Shikamaru yelled.**

**"Of course, you can come to us. I live with Sasuke!" .....he yelled.**

** **


	30. SAKURA AND SASUKE

 

****

**Sakura did not believe that Sasuke invited her to the meeting: "No way!" .... she was excited.**

**Inner Sakura: "No way, probably not a date! But why he asked me to meet him?"**

**Sasuke had a million reasons to invite her to a meeting: "For God's sake, Sakura is always the same. Crybaby, always in a fight with Naruto, she was crazy about me, she waited patiently on my back ..... she believed in me all the time that I will be back ..... she gave all .... and what I did for her. I almost killed her, but Naruto saved the day. Belittled her and say she was annoying "..... he was thinking as he walked by her." I do not know if I deserve such a strong and powerful woman. Now I can correct my mistakes to her. "**

**He came to the florist: "All the luck Ino is not there!" ..... he thought that to buy her flowers.**

**Flowers that will tell her everything, because he knew that she would know what it says with regard to hang out with Ino.**

**What is love? ........ The game of hide and seek......**

**Once upon a time, all human emotions and all human quality found in one hidden place on Earth.**

**When Boredom yawned third time's Folly, always so crazy, proposed: "Let's play hide and seek! Who is the best hide, the winner is the feelings.**

**" The Intrigue has raised her right eyebrow, and Curiosity, unable to suppress, asked: "Hide and seek? What is this game? "**

**"It's one game," she began to explain Folly, "in which I cover my eyes and count to one million, while all of you can not hide. When I finish counting, goes in search, and which I find is the winner. "**

**The Ecstasy he danced, followed by the Enthusiasm.**

**Happiness is so jump that persuaded Suspicion and Apathy that nothing was ever interested.**

**But not everyone wanted to play. The Truth was against hiding, and why should they be hiding? Anyway, it's always, in the end, all found.**

**The Pride he thought it was a stupid idea, even though it is actually bothered that he was the one who remembered suggest a game.**

**Caution did not want to risk it.**

**"One, two, three ..." she began to count crazy.**

**First hide laziness, which as always, only dropped after the first stone on the road.**

**Faith went up to heaven, Envy hid in the shadow of the success that is tormenting climbed to the top of the highest of the Tree. Generosity is no way she could not decide where to hide because she did every place seemed perfect for one of her friends.**

**Beauty jumped into the crystal clear lake and Shyness is peering through the crack of wood. The Beauty has found its place in the flight of butterflies and Freedom in the breath of wind. Selfishness found a hiding place, but only for yourself! The Lie hidden on the ocean floor (lying on the end of the rainbow), and Lust and Passion in the crater of a volcano.**

**Oblivion forgot to hide, but it does not matter. When Folly counted 999,999,**

**Love still has not found shelter because there were all busy. Seeing a flower garden, it jumped, covering the beautiful buds.**

**"A million," .....she shouted Folly and began their search.**

**The first is found Laziness, behind the nearest stone. Soon she heard Faith to discuss theology with God, and the Passions and Desires are standing out from the crater of fear.**

**By chance she got there, and Envy, and of course Success, and Selfishness are not even supposed to look. She herself flew out of his perfect hiding places that have been shown Beehives. Since so much seek Folly is thirsty, and so the crystal lake found Beauty.**

**With Suspicion it was even easier because she could opt for the hiding and is sat on a nearby rock. That is Craziness, little by little, found almost everyone. Talent in the golden ears of corn, Anxiety in the burnt grass, Lie at the end of a long (lying, was at the bottom of the ocean) and Oblivion has forgotten that they ever played anything. Only Love could not find anywhere.**

**She searched every bush and every mountain top, and when she was already angry, she saw a flower. She walked among the roses, caught a dry branch and anger and exhaustion began to strike the beautiful buds.**

**Suddenly he heard a cry of pain. Rose thorns scratched Love eyes. Folly did not know what to do.**

**She found a winner, a sense of emotion, but Love has become blind. She cried and begged her to love and forgive, and finally decided to stay forever with the love and support her.**

**Love is relegated winner of feelings, but remained blind and Foolish act is followed wherever she goes.**

**Love is love. Only one. Love has no form or can not be classified because it limits.**

 

**Sasuke chose a beautiful red rose, a rose because that color is a symbol of love:"I'm sure you will understand everything! "**

**Sakura was ready and waiting impatiently.**

**"What if he's just kidding?" ..... It is despite all the doubts, waiting patiently.**

**"Sakura!" ..... he called softly.**

**"Sasuke, you're here! I did not ...." .... she did not get the word until the end when he put her finger to her lips: "Shhh!" .... he was silenced:" "Sakura, I'm not kidding , I like you! And this is for you! ".....down to kiss and a rose in front of her: "I have only one wish be with me forever!"**

**Large green eyes were bright, her face turned the color of rose that she held: "Sasuke I like you too, for a long time. Thank you, my dream finally became real!" ..... rush of feeling she loses consciousness.**

**He took her in his arms: "Damn maybe I'm exaggerating a little. I have a picture in my head Sakura in the future and I forgot that we have not yet fully grown. Sakura!" .... lightly with his finger passes over her red face: "Oh, man she is's so beautiful! "**

**He sat on a bench holding her on his knees to embrace, "Sakura!" .... he called again but a little voice stronger. She opened her green eyes and said, "Am I dreaming?" ..... he bent down and gently dropped a kiss on her lips and whispered, "I'm not a dream!"**

**They sat on the bench, losing track of time and space.**

**Night was falling and it became cool them back: "It's already night. Naruto will kill me!" .... Sasuke thought and said: "Sakura's time to escort you home. And tomorrow is the day. I will not go anywhere "..... gets up on the bench and pulled her along.**

**She did not comment, but obediently went with him in love and happy as never before.**

**When they came to her house he kissed her and slowly pushed, "Go home!" .... as she went up the stairs unconscious anything at all he had a smile: "This time everything will be okay!"**

**Sakura is not registered with questions of their parents, but only smiling at a woman in love.**

**Her parents shook his head: " She grew up!"**

**She entered the room and threw herself on the bed, shaking constantly scenes which took place at his head and laughed: "Sasuke is my!" .... and then she cried: "Kami thanks for everything!"**

****


	31. KIBA  AND   HINATA

**Hinata did not wake up for a week after her battle with Neji.**

**Doctors who have worked overnight were not sure that she will survive, because the heart chakra in disarray. Tsunade was absent and all are anxious to return.**

**Kiba thought Kurenai sensei's face, which had strained lines and concern on her face. From her family no one came to visit. He was surprised by the behavior of Naruto.**

**How could he know that he has hidden feelings for Hinata. He had been thankful that the weather prevented Neji to kill Hinata, because it was his intention when he set off on her.**

**Just before dawn, the door of the waiting room opened and the nurse came in.**

**"Hinata Hyuga was out of danger! Her condition is stable." ..... she smiled slightly.**

**Kiba wanted to go in first to make sure Hinata is okay but it is kept Shino, because she is still was not to have visitors.**

**Kiba is a severe stroke left the hospital wanting to be with her when she wakes up.**

**"Why has not yet awakened?" ..... he asked, and he could not calm down when he was told: "Her condition is stable but still in a coma. We do not know when she will wake up." .. ..... he wanted to jump out of the skin and in himself begged: "Please kami, please let her live!"**

**He loved her all his heart.** **It's always been there for her when the other kids teased her about her eyes.**

**"Her eyes are the most beautiful in the world. They are a reflection of her tender soul. Unlike him, who constantly yells, constantly rushing somewhere, there is never peace she is was his opposite, quiet and withdrawn."....he thought.**

**Kiba felt trapped between the walls of the hospital, where everything smelled of blood and disease. The silence that reigned in the waiting room reminded him of the funeral. He could not hit the wall because he was warned that it will drop him.**

**Shino and Kurenai sensei came every other morning, while Kurenai sensei always asked the same question. He could not understand why she is did come just for a few minutes to ask how the Hinata.**

**The answer is always the same: "Her condition is stable, but we can not say for sure when she will wake up."**

**He wanted to grab her and shake, shout at her: "Do something, dammit! Why is she is still did not wake up? Why is she still looked pale and weak, if her condition is stable. Her breathing was still hoarse and painful, with the smell of blood."**

**Kiba knew the smell of blood all his life, but he never hated before as now.**

**Shino spoke to him. "Kiba we will know when she wakes up, it will tell us. You do not have all the time to hang around the hospital and make nervous hospital staff."**

**Kurenai sensei him a couple of times warned the view that noise does not work and he held on to something down. He just held his breath and at least six times a day he was in and out of the hospital. All his ways wherever he went in the end they ended up in the hospital.**

**Anyway, he had nothing to do, he could not remain long just to look at, just sat down and went outside. Akamaru did not like hospitals, but never made a fuss about it, and he was with him.**

**Akamaru who wore his mood like a second skin, the whole week was calm even when Kiba did not give enough attention. He was worried about the girl also and understood him completely.**

**Neji never came to visit Hinata. Unlike him, Naruto stopped a couple of times and brought flowers.**

**He sat beside her and talked, but what he said did not pace himself.**

**"Why Naruto so much attention paid to Hinata and not just her."....he wondered.**

**"Kiba I'm sorry but I'm going to fight with Neji. Do not be angry with me. If you want to protect Hinata become stronger, because she is worth every effort!" .....he told him: "Look at her!"**

**At the end of the week she looked a lot better and breathe almost normally. Her face was still pale, but when breathing, breathing was quiet and slowly, but the smell of blood is not felt.**

**She looks better!" .... he said, and then he settled in the chair, hard, uncomfortable thing that has become all too familiar over the past week.**

**Kiba was not a patient. Hospital room, sensitive equipment, silence and stuffiness were bringing discomfort in him, and quickly stood up and went to get himself a drink.**

**When he came back, Akamru he sat in his lap and Kiba it is scratched. After an hour, he fell asleep.**

**"Ki....Kiba kun!"....Hinata had quietly invited and insecure she ran a hand across his face when he woke up.**

**"Hinata!Thank kami, she finally woke up!" .... he had a smile and gently watched while her hand on his face coincided his.**

**"Kiba kun? How long have you been here?....How long was I asleep?..."...she asked, and slowly rose when she coughed.**

**He did not know how long he was here. Hell, he did not intend to sleep.**

**"Why him is Akamaru did not wake up?"....he asked:""I just stopped by to see how you are!" .... he stood up and said, somewhat sharply: "Do not get up! Lei down!"...took her gently by the shoulders and helped her to get back on the pillow : "You slept all week. They thought you were gonna die. I told you that you were avoiding to fight with him!" .... with his finger move one lock with her face: "I'll get the nurse!".....he was out the door at one point, only to return with the medic firmly holding his collar.**

**Doctor glowered at Kiba with his rude conduct, but turned to Hinata with a polite smile.**

**She looked over the young doctor in Kiba with large, opaque eyes anxiously:"I was asleep for week...?"**

**"Yeah!" ... he is glowered young doctor who had been turned the back.**

**"They said first that your condition is stable, but they do not know when you'll wake up." .... he still wanted to add something but doctor was present and he gave up.**

**The doctor examined Hinata, talked to her and said: "It's all right! The worst is over!" .... he turned around, and when he saw Kiba is absent he asked: "Hinata chan you have very considerate boyfriend. He was always hanging around the hospital this week. He must like you a lot! "**

**When the doctor left Kiba enters the room.**

**She looked down, hanging fingers and quietly asked, "Are you .... did you bother to come."**

**"What kind of question is that? I was not hard to come because I wanted to. They came Shino, Kurenai sensei and even Naruto who brought you flowers."**

**"Naruto, why did he come?" ..... she asked Kiba.**

**"Who knows but I think it is good as a friend. I have such a feeling even though we do not know a long time!".....Kiba smiled: "He is a strange creature!" You have to heal completely to his battle with Neji. I think he's able to put in order your relatives. "...... snorted through the nose.**

**"Ah ... but Kiba kun, thank you for visiting. I did not think anyone would ever come to see me."**

**"What? That's stupid. Why would you not had a single visitor? Everyone is worried about you. ".... he suddenly, without thinking yelled at her and he turns red in the face."**

**Kiba has never been patient, he probably never will be, but the hell he could learn with the right person .**

****


	32. GARA........NARUTO.........SASUKE.....KAKASHI.....FU(Naruto)

****

**Sasuke picked up Gaara and went to apartaman there has already been Naruto and Fu who greeted them with a big smile.**

**He was preparing foods for Sasuke omusubi with Okaka and tomatoes and Gaara salted tongue and gizzard "Gara I think this is your dish!" ..... he in front of them serve dinner.**

**Fu has already enjoyed the food.**

**"You know how to cook?" ........he asked in surprise:"I can not believe it!"**

**""You do not know this Naruto."!".........Sasuke laughed and added: "His cooking is fantastic.** **Well I do not know what he puts in the food, but it's wonderful!"**

**"Gaara while I was in the Root ...." ..... Gaara suddenly exclaimed: "You were in Root, tonight is a night of surprises!" ..... Gaara watched him anxiously.**

**"I was on a solo mission collecting various skills as well as herbs and things like that. Time is very slow went there and I had to learn to calm down or I would have gone mad. "... he was there briefly imagine.**

**"Why we came back this much back. What happened?" .... Gara asked and enjoyed the food: "Damn Naruto your wife will not have to do anything!" .....Sasuke coughed: "Gaara, he was not for women!"**

**"Naruto is already mine!" .... said Fu.**

**"Sasuke, there you are wrong. I love women but .... "... he was a little sad," Never mind! Fu, you eat and do not comment with your mouth full!" .... he is a warning.**

**They are two views: "Damn!" .... they gasped.**

**Gara activates the sand and make him a flower and handed it to him: "Well, Naruto be mine!"..... Sasuke and Naruto remain confused: "Gaara ...?"**

**Gaara smiled and said: "I love to see your smile! You see this small gesture threw you from negative thoughts" ..... two of them laughed: "Thank you, Gaara!"....Naruto said.**

**Naruto is carefully looking at him, "Gaara if you did not know, and you have a beautiful smile!"**

**Gara slightly flushed, and Sasuke rolled his eyes: "I think you two need the room!"**

**"Nop, they do not need the room. Naruto will sleep with me!" ..... two of them looked at each other.**

**"You be a good girl and I'll sleep with you." .... Naruto said what the two of them choked .**

**Naruto, send them a strange look, "What's wrong with what we share a place to sleep. I already sleep with Sasuke! "**

**Gaara looked at them and began to laugh: "For God's sake, no one wants to be away from Naruto but it would be interesting in the four ....!"**

**"Why four?" ..... Naruto was confused.**

**"Sucker!" ..... two of them think.**

**Shukaku laughed: "Your Jinchuriki is a piece of work."**

**"I already know a long time ago but he's already mine. !" ..... Kurama groaned.**

**Gaara rolled his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, I give up the big boss has the advantage!"**

**"Grand Master ..... who is Grand Master!"......Fu asked them:" Oh, mister nine!"......Chomei her explain.**

**Kakashi listened to them and smiled: "Gaara's right Naruto has the most beautiful smile.".....but he was white as snow, frozen as ice,when he heard a further conversation.**

**Naruto make grin and slowly make a seal for the barrier: "Now no one will disturb us!"**

**"Shit!" ..... Kakashi snorted: "He knows I'm here! How? I thought I was a master of eavesdropping. I think I have to start again to work out. Damn Naruto."....but he did not go but lay down on the roof:"Well, just in case I'll stay here! What is certain, is certain."**

**The four of them continued talking.**

**"Gaara, Fu of this you must not tell anyone. It must remain a secret." ..... Sasuke was serious.**

**"Naruto why you chose to go back?" .... he asked.**

**"For me, the one and only reason. I could not come to terms with the fact that it's almost more than fifty percent of the ninja were killed, and on the side of the enemy no one was killed.." .... Naruto shrugged: "I'm not a savior by these conditions. "**

**"I chose to come back, because he chose, I have the task to save Itachi!" ..... Sasuke said."** **I think that I chose to come back to fix my mistakes, but also to be with Naruto!".....he smiled, looking at Naruto with enthusiasm.**

**"We all know what happened during the Chuunin exam in the past but with my action, the past has changed. I went in Root, Haku and Zabuza are alive, Danzo has disappeared in fact I had him removed from the scene as well as Orochimaru .... ".... Gaara to this winced and exclaimed: "I can not believe it! How?"**

**"Long story, briefly Uzumaki clan still there but in a parallel world with this. The clan was discovered way back in time, but in the future because of what has been destroyed. But by chance they have found an overlap of time and space with this world and ended up in a parallel world leaving seal on the place where it was resident Uzumaki clan Uzushiogakure. Using this seal I ended up in a parallel world. Here's my grandfather showed me how to use a seal that is only characteristic of Uzumaki clan. With this seal, I closed Danzo and Orochimaru in seal.".....Naruto explain.**

**"Now that does not have Orochimaru, attack on Konoha by the Suna falls into the water, I deeply hope." ..... Sasuke continue:" But it probably Orochimaru contacted Suna."**

**"Okay, I'll talk to my father. I think I'll go back to the village and exploit the situation and again to return to the finals." ..... said Gaara.**

  **"Your father .....!" ..... Naruto looked at him quickly.**

**"My situation is somewhat different than in the past, probably thanks to the Shukaku." .... Gara smiled.**

**"Brat, you got that right! Your father is a tough player." ...... murmured Shukaku and Gaara let him know what he said.**

**"Gaara you can also make contact with Shukaku like me with Kurama which depends on your guest.".....Naruto make a grin:" Well, you probably will also boost your chances for making progress much further."**

**"Dammit Naruto, do not put him such ideas!" ...... Kurama and Shukaku groaned and they laughed.**

******"We also need to find other Jinchuriki." ....he added."Also do not forget to put the seal on the graves. Remember Kabuto and Impure World Reincarnations." ..... warned Naruto:"I've already seen with Yagura and Utakata! "**

**"You now have to be careful, because all things are possible!" ..... Sasuke sighed.**

**"Fu what the situation is with you?".....asked Naruto.**

**"Everything is fine between me and Chomei."......she smiled.**

**"She is somewhat like Naruto, being a loud-mouth and reckless in her actions.".....Chomei groaned." Also, unlike most jinchūriki, Fū is very friendly and eager to make friends.Which is not good with considering what happened before."**

**"Fu, from now on listen Chomei, because he is in connection with Kurama. You're not alone!"......Naruto stroked her hair:"Another question how the situation at home? ".**

**" The village leader Shibuki took great care in keeping me protected. He also taught me the importance of friendship and loyalty. I wish you two meet? "....she looked at Naruto.**

**"What happens to Yagura and Utakata?" ..... Gaara said.**

**"Me and Sasuke met with them in the Land of Wawes. Yagura is still Mizukage but in the shade. Obito tried already brought under control but it failed due to Isobe. ".... Naruto said," Utakata is still missing-nin but is no longer. The two of them are now together!"**

**They talked for a long time and finally go to sleep. Naruto removed the barrier.**

**"Kakashi, you're still here!" ..... picked up the blanket and jump to cover him, because he had fallen asleep, "I'm sorry Kakashi!" .....looking at him for a while:** **"I'll be ok! "..... sighed deeply:" I chose this! "..... go back and lie down with three of them.**

**Kakashi was not asleep but pulled the blanket up to his nose and fell asleep. His ninken set to watch. Naruto woke up before dawn and he started to run, and from the roof in him watched Kakashi. Naruto turned and looked at him.**

**Waved to him with a smile and called out: "When I get back I fix you breakfast."**

**"I can not wait to taste your food!" ..... Kakashi waved and went down to Sasuke  "Yo, you guys and lady!".**

**"Kakashi good morning!" .... sleepy said Sasuke.**

**"He was already out. Root, damn it!"...... Kakashi watched with interest Gaara.**

**"This is Gaara, Jinchuriki of the One-Tail from Sunagakure!" ..... Sasuke introduced him, and he handled with Kakashi: "I'm glad I met Kakashi of the Sharingan!"**

**"This is Fu, Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails from **Takigakure!"......she smiled: "I'm glad I met you!"****

**"Wow, three beasts in one place!" .... Kakashi stepped back a little.**

**"Do not worry Kakashi, Naruto is my friend as well as everyone in Konoha." .... he looked directly at him.**

**"Ma ma Naruto is a miracle of nature!" .... make grin Kakashi.**

**"Kakashi, he is an amazing person!" ..... Fu walked past him on the balcony: "In this world there are two suns that most certainly, equally shine!"....she whispered as the sun has stirred the horizon.**

**Kakashi stood next to her and stared at the rising sun: "The sun, warm and full of life!"**

**Sasuke came to them and said, "You're right!"**

**Naruto was not long absent, because he went only stretch, probably a habit.**

**Naruto waved and shouted: "Food will be quickly on the table."**

**"Well, I suddenly became very hungry!" ..... could be heard from their stomachs moan.**

**Naruto entered the bathroom and took a shower.**

**When he finished goes wearing nothing but towel around his waist,** **"Sasuke could you bring clothes to put on. I forgot!" ..... and he returned to the bathroom.**

**"Wait a bit to clean up my room!" ......cried Sasuke.**

**Kakashi was left stunned. He rubbed his eyes as to see the illusion. Naruto as he stood in the doorway was lit by the sun's rays.**

**His body was a dream. Muscle tissue was in perfect proportions, firmly. His hair was wet and drops slid down on his neck and torso shimmering in the sun.**

**Blue eyes like the sky with the sun's reflections were unbelievably great. Gaara and Kakashi are lightly blushed.**

**"I am absolutely right Kakashi he is amaizing person in every way." .... Gaara watched him out of the corner of the eye and the lips had a little smile: "Kakashi you fell like apples from the tree!" ..... .he did not say aloud, but to himself and said, "Time to eat!" ..... he hit him on the back.**

**"Eat!" .... Kakashi repeated to him and his face dripped sweat, "Kakashi come to your senses!" .... he thought to himself: "Why did I react like this to him? I've already seen plenty of naked men body but .... ".... sigh gasping for breath, because he forgot to breathe.**

**The three of them sat at the table when entered Naruto with a yellow T-shirt and short blue pants. His hair was Semi-wet.**

**"Kakashi what you want to eat?" ..... in half turn he looked up at him.**

**"Miso soup with eggplant and something sweet!" ..... he said, but faltered somewhat on the sweet words:"** **Kakashi Pervert!" .... he thought and make a grin.**

**Sasuke, Fu and Gaara watched him surreptitiously, he was not aware that they are watching. The two of them were surprised to hear that humming under his breath.**

**"You have no idea what he can!" ... Sasuke kissed him on the cheek.**

**"Sasuke sit down at the table, do not disturb me." ... Naruto laughed.**

**Kakashi under the table squeezed his fingers into a fist and thought: "Do not touch it! For God's sake, this is hell!" ... put his head down on the table and sighed.**

**Naruto turned around, quickly came up to him and put his hand on his forehead, "You are not well?" .... he was concerned.**

**"Well, the big boss has a big problem!" .... Fu has just commented.**

**"I have no problem!" .... Kakashi said quickly.**

**"You're not a great master, ..... he is already under heavy guard!" ..... Fu looked at Kakashi with a mischievous smile:" You do not stand a chance!".**

**"Fu, food will get cold!" .... Naruto shook his head.**

**Kakashi looked at him with a dark gray eye: "I'm fine but I'm starving!"**

**"Oh, the meal is finished!" .... and he served while you said cookie with a smile." I hope you will enjoy your meal!"....on which they silently sighed.**

**They ate in silence, because they were hungry and did not have time to talk.**

**"Naruto, this is very good!" ..... Kakashi praises him.**

**"Thanks Kakashi sensei!" .....Naruto had satisfied smile.**

**When they were finished he put the mochi cakes on their surprise: "Naruto for God's sake, who are you?"....... Kakashi was purring contentedly.**

**"Naruto, um .... my offer stands still." ..... Gaara is keenly looking at him.**

**"I'll keep this in mind!" .... he laughed loudly.**

**"Naruto, Sasuke are you home?" .... yelled Shikamaru under the balcony.**

**"We're home!" .... Naruto came out on balcony and yelled, "Come up here!"**

**Shikamaru soon come and Sasuke let him in.**

**"Good morning .... uh you have more!" .... he was a bit confused, "Kakashi sensei,you are here!" .... and then looked at Gaara, and Fu.**

**"Gaara from Sunagakure!" ... present by Naruto.**

**"Shikamaru Nara"......he nodded.**

**"Fu, **Takigakure!".....she said.****

**"Help yourself!" ...Naruto  offer him with cakes.**

**"This is good! Where did you buy?" .... he asked.**

**"I did not buy them, I have made them!" ..... Naruto said.**

**He choked on it and Sasuke hit him on the back: "He does not's lying!"**

**"I wanted to ask if you can help me in training!" ..... now Naruto choke, "I can not believe it.".....while thought to himself:"** **He preferred not to get involved in "troublesome" activities, pretending to be busy to avoid responsibility. He also does not like fighting, deeming it, as he does to most things, "troublesome". He is fully aware of this side of his personality. He even named himself "the number one at running away" or "the number one coward" What made him change?"**

**"Asuma sensei said things about Root,regarding training. Is it true?" .... he asked.**

**"Shikamaru I'll just tell you that I can kill a man in broad daylight in a crowd, and that no one noticed." ... Naruto frowned: "How do you think I survive? "**

**Kakashi watched him as well as all present.**

**"Shikamaru, training there and here are the heavens and the earth. Your life hanging by a thread every minute. Sparring battles almost deadly. Four hours of sleep in seven days. I can make a schedule and adjust if you want. "..... his eyes for a moment lose luster.**

**"Please do!" ..... Shikamaru said and added: "You do not like to talk about it?"**

**"I can talk about the events of the Root, but of my missions can not. I am not carried out tasks only for Root. "..... the fact that he uttered had left them speechless.**

**They talked for a while.**

**Fu said sadly: "Naruto I hope to see you soon! "**

**"Fu, remember what I told you. You are not alone, I am always there for you, do not forget!" .... he gently hugged her and said: "I will find time to see you! "**

**Gara is then went back to their village, and they went on training.**


	33. GAARA IN A DREAM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto....Gaara

****

 

**After returning from Konoha, Gaara retreated to his room that he once passed memories. He lay down on the bed, closed his eyes and he let the image from memory.**

**He was on the playground where the children were playing with a ball while he was sitting on the swing and watched them while they were playing.**

**"Here ...." .... he grabbed the ball that had fallen on top of the house and handed it to the boy.**

**"It's Gaara....".....girl said with fear in her eyes:"Gaara of the sand, "Run!"....they yelled out loud and have run off.**

**"Wait! Do not leave me alone....."....with sand them grabbed and pulled toward him:"I do not be alone anymore!".... .............Gaara sighed heavily on it.**

  **"You have eyes that know true solitude, eyes that know loneliness is this world's worst kind of pain. I told you , you have the same eyes as me. Eyes that seek power and are filled with hate and murderous intent.** **The same as mine. You have eyes that are itching to kill the one who put in the hell known as solitude.".....he was sad as he remembered his childhood in the past.**

 **"So why do I exist and live? The feeling that you are not needed by anyone in this world.** **We are the same!Why are you different! Why!"....the red head cried tears slipping from his green eyes.**

**"The pain of being alone is completely out of this world, isn't it? I do not know why...but I understand your feelings so much, it actually hurts. But I have people who are impotant to me now.".......he remembered the words of Naruto.**

**"Why can you do this for strangers?......Love is the spirit of devoting yourself to someone important and close to you....Love....Is that why he is strong?...** **Uzumaki Naruto ....ha..."......he rolled onto his side and curled.**

**"The golden colour of sun the resided within his hair, shining and soft to the touch of my hands.**

**I stare into those sky eyes that turns the unbearable sleepless night into the blessed day that resides within his soul. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul, although I see no sadness I would not doubt that such an emotion was held in such beautiful eyes.**

**We both grew up with only loneliness, until the day our paths differed... he was saved by the kindness of another, I was saved by no one.**

**At least, not until I met my blond god, years later. He had shown me that I was not just a hollow being with only the purpose to kill in order to mark my meaning onto this world. He had shown me a change that could change my life...**

**I know the pureness of blue from his eyes with forever be stained in my once shattered mind. He had shown that there was much more inside me besides the darkness and gloom of a brooken heart.**

**He had pulled out emotion that was covered in element of heart ache, purity as well as a red-hot passion that could not be fed by the texture of blood. My whole life I wanted to feel, hence the only reason why I killed. To feel numb is to feel nothing.**

**To have nothing was meaningless and worthless to what I had craved - the unknown craving for love of another.".....his thinking about Naruto.**

**"Shukaku, thank you for helping me not to make the mistakes of the past. Now my life is much better than before with your leadership. Thank you for your confuses my mind, preventing me to do mistakes and to please my father. Many dear people are here and now. Thank you! "...... Gaara went to the back of his mind.**

**"Hey, Gaara I am pleased! You thank Naruto, as he is credited with what we were beasts changed!" ..... Shukaku send him to sleep.**

 

**Dream**

 

**"Wanna dance?"....heard the voice of Naruto.**

**" Where am I?".....he wondered because the place where he found himself, he did not recognize.**

**He turned toward the voice, and when he saw the person who was holding his hand, he had forgotten everything.**

**"Of course!" ..... he said as he held Naruto's hand and ran through the crowd moving to the beat.**

**.... "Dream!"......he had a smile on his face.**

**Music is alive, their bodies were nicely moving. He accompanied Blonde in every move. The noise around him was gone and he was alone with him.**

**Blue and brightness of his eyes, took him in the heavenly space.** **Their bodies were at the time of touching and refused. Drag and push to the beat was almost hypnotic.**

**Green eyes were bright and full of lust were leaving Naruto beside himself. The bodies were gently rubbed each other, blue eyes, green eyes, heaven and earth clashed.**

**Gaara palm crossed over abdomen of Naruto who bit his lower lip and almost groaned.**

**He attract Gaara to him and biting him with a grin on his neck and back away from himself. Gaara now him attracts to himself by aligning the chest on his back.**

**Naruto felt the hot breath on his neck and felt a bite on his neck and gently licking tongue after the bite. He turned quickly and forcefully pulled the lower part of his body with his own.**

**He the upper part of the body away from him, just gently rub up against him, swaying his hips as he did.**

**Naruto echoing his fingers thrust into his hips and rubbing strengthen the lower body slowly descend to the floor and his lips lightly touching a place that is bulged with lust and return the finger of one hand sliding from that point, through the stomach and slowly drew a finger to his face and down gently kiss and turned away from him.**

**He heard the hoarse voice and groan: "Narutooo!You're the only one who can take me right now, there on the floor,  suck everything out of me and make me scream.".....voice was in ecstasy.**

** **

**Naruto cursed to himself, "Gaara do not push me!" .... he was losing his voice dissolving by the rush of emotions.**

**He turned to him, holding him tightly around the waist, pulled him closer and pushed his leg between his. In the rhythm they moved, he with his foot, he with his body sliding and rubbing causing erection in full form.**

**They breathed hard, caught his breath as their hearts beat to the rhythm of the music, the rhythm of their feelings.**

**With its partner rocked to the rhythm of causing a fire, not only in his body but also the body of his partner.**

**Gaara with tongue glides over his lips invoking Naruto to the last limit. Attracted by the magic of tongue and lips Naruto caught his head and slowly lowered his lips and sucked his tongue in his mouth slowly pushing his tongue into his mouth.**

**Both have lost track of time and place where they were. Passion flourished in both bodies equally.**

**Two tongue are investigated and fought with dominance. Each with one hand fingers roamed the body of one another to the point erection.**

**At one point, both found themselves on the floor. Gaara was above Naruto and devoured him with his eyes.**

**He slid head toward the lower body and with teeth opened a patent on his pants.**

**Naruto groaned as he felt warm and wet tongue on his **pulsating penis**. **

**Gaara smiled and relaxing throat took a pulsating penis in his mouth until soft blond curls at the bottom and the movement is repeated in the rhythm up - down.**

**When he get to the top with his tongue moved to over the top, and caught in his mouth and sucked. Naruto let the voice:" Gaarraa, ahh Please do not stop! "....... more groaning with breathing hard.**

**"Gaara wake up! "... he was as from a distance heard that someone called him and opened his eyes.**

**Above him was his brother Konkuro who is watching him with interest.". "Pleasant dreams!"**

**"For God's sake let me sleep!" .... Gaara huddled and groaned:"The most beautiful part I missed! Damn Naruto!"**

**"Naruto!".....he had asked, puzzled.**

**"Get out of my room!" ...... yelled and threw a pillow at him.**

****


	34. Fifteen days before the Chuunin exam Konoha is in disarray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SAKURA AND KAKASHI  
> IRUKA AND KAKASHI  
> TSUNADE AND NARUTO  
> KAKASHI AND NARUTO  
> INO AND SHIKAMARU  
> 

****

 

**Konoha will remember the day when Itachi secretly snuck in Konoha. Akatsuki was in motion, and he came exploit the situation but he was bored.**

**His face showed a wicked smile.**

**The first person he ran into was Sakura Haruno. She was in cloud nine. Sakura did not know what happened to her, but a second was under the influence of genjutsu.**

 

** SAKURA - KAKASHI  **

 

**“Can you keep it out of my file?” .....he didn’t look at her, but she was used to that.**

**The lack of a book was new, though.**

**Sakura set down the file in question. “Why?”**

**Her shift was almost over and she wanted nothing more than to go home. She sighed and nudged the door shut with her foot.**

**Kakashi didn’t answer. The fluorescent lights buzzed fitfully. One flickered. He was looking at the door, Sakura realized with weary frustration. This was the second time he’d come to her. The first time, at noon, she’d barely seen him. He’d teleported out when she closed the door.**

**“Why?” ....Sakura repeated herself, trying and failing to rein in her irritation.**

**She used the last of her sympathy hours ago and, frankly, Sakura was having a hard time giving a damn. She wanted to go home and go to sleep.**

**Kakashi looked away from the door and stared at his knees instead.**

**“No reason!”....... he murmured softly.**

**His leg twitched, knocking against the base of the examination table. It made a dull, hollow thud. Kakashi shivered.**

**Sakura sighed again and dropped gracelessly into the patient’s chair.**

**“How about I promise to keep it out of your folder, but I can talk to Tsunade if it’s necessary?”....she closed her eyes and wondered if he’d notice if she fell asleep:" Probably. Kakashi was pretty perceptive for a half-blind guy.**

**Kakashi didn’t answer.**

**The scent of chakra smoke stung her nose, and Sakura sighed for the third time. He was gone. She tried to care, but failed miserably. Sakura eased back onto her aching feet and grabbed Kakashi’s folder. It was ten. She could go home.**

**He was lurking in the dingy grey hallway beside her door. Still no book and Sakura managed to work up enough energy to be slightly worried.**

**“Kakashi,”...... she greeted him. “Are you going to stay this time?”......he waved.**

**Sakura left her door open when she went in. It was invitation enough, in her opinion.**

**Kakashi slipped in behind her and closed the door. He was slouching so aggressively that his shoulders were nearly pinned to his ears. Sakura smiled, suddenly a little nostalgic for the days when it wouldn’t have been weird to see him.**

**“Why don’t you sit on the couch?”..... she suggested, heading toward her kitchen—toward her fridge.**

**It really wasn’t enough to be called a kitchen.**

**The couch creaked behind her and Sakura felt a wave of relief that she wouldn’t have to fight him over that too.**

**“Do you want something to eat?”..... she asked, dropping her bag by the microwave.**

**“No.”.....he said.**

**Sakura shrugged and grabbed a juice box. She jammed the straw through the foil circle and sucked half of the juice in a single gulp.**

**“So why are you here?”......she sat across from Kakashi on her milk crate coffee table across from Kakashi because she didn’t own any chairs. Kakashi glanced up and met her eyes for a second. He didn’t speak. Sakura yawned and stared at her bed longingly.**

**“Can you tell me where it hurts?” ......she asked, figuring that if it worked with three year olds.**

**“My stomach!” ......Kakashi answered immediately.**

**He paled and looked at the door, like he’d just revealed something awful.**

**Sakura slurped up the last few drops in her juice box. Kakashi glared at her, and suddenly she felt twelve again. She stuck out her tongue. Kakashi snorted and rolled his eye. She could almost hear Naruto and Sasuke squabbling in the distance.**

**“So, illness or injury?”...... Sakura asked, pushing the memories to the back of her mind.**

**Kakashi tensed up again, she noted with absent-minded regret. “Injury.”**

**“Okay,”...... Sakura said. “Bleeding?”**

**Kakashi hesitated, then shrugged. “I don’t know,”...... he said.**

**Sakura tilted her head.**

**That was a strange response. “How long ago where you injured?”**

**“A couple of days ago.” ....his hands flexed, like he was trying to grab on to something.**

**“On a mission?".....Kakashi curled in on himself.**

**Mostly metaphorically, only his shoulders hunched down, but it was a remarkably clear withdrawal for a man whose smile was a half-closed eye.**

**Sakura frowned. “...not on a mission?”**

**The hair on the back of her neck rose up in response to a crawling sense of unease. Kakashi nodded mutely, staring at her door again. Her lamp cast too much light when Sakura snapped it on. Kakashi flinched. He was pale.**

**“Can you lie down on the couch?”..... Sakura paused, then corrected herself, “Actually, the couch is too short for me, much less for you. Let’s move you to my bed.”**

**Kakashi raised his eyebrow and Sakura shrugged. “I just got off a double shift. I’m not taking responsibility for anything I say.”**

**She thought she saw him smile under his mask, but he didn’t move.**

**“Do you need help to stand?”......Kakashi held out his hands in response.**

**He wasn’t wearing his gloves. Sakura grabbed his wrists and hauled him to his feet. She pulled away quickly, because his hands were cold and clammy.**

**Her bed was only a couple of feet away, but he fell on it like he was exhausted. Sakura winced and wished that she had washed her sheets last week when her mother had told her to. Her unmade bed smelled like sweat and shampoo, and she knew that he could smell it.**

**“I’m going to use a diagnostic jutsu,” ......she told him.**

**Kakashi nodded, his hair rustling against her sheets. The lines at the corner of his eye looked deeper than usual and Sakura realized that she was worried about him. Strange.**

**Sakura preformed the hand signs slowly, her aching muscles reminding her that she didn’t have much chakra left. The final seal completed and a net of her chakra dropped over Kakashi, covering him from his chest to his knees. It sank into him, then wavered.**

**Sakura’s control broke and her chakra dissipated.**

**“In the village?”..... she whispered, horrified at the implications.**

**There was no way in hell that his injures were accidental.**

**“You can’t tell,”....... Kakashi said.**

**“You promised, you can’t tell.” ........he grabbed her wrist and held it too tightly.**

**She would be bruised tomorrow.**

**“Actually, I didn’t promise anything,”...... she said quietly, fighting back tears.**

**Kakashi didn’t need her crying over him. Crying doesn’t fix anything.**

**“Please, just don’t tell!” ........Kakashi begged, looking at her with quiet desperation. “No one needs to know.”**

**Sakura swallowed hard. “Is there a danger to the village?”......her voice cracked, because that wasn't quite what she needed to ask.**

**“No,”.... Kakashi said. “No. It won’t—it can’t happen again.” ......he let go of her wrist abruptly, and stared at her. “Please Sakura, don’t tell anyone.”**

**Sakura breathed out, then in, taking in the smoky, dusty scent of her shithole apartment. “Okay,” ......she agreed. “Okay.”**

**Kakashi closed his eye and sagged against her bed. “Okay,” ......he echoed her.**

**“You’re dehydrated. There’s an infection in one of the cuts. And if you leave it unattended you’ll probably die. I can’t believe you were walking around.” ....Sakura thought about the glimpse she’d caught before she’d lost control. “I don’t have the chakra to heal you tonight. I’m exhausted. But you won’t die overnight, so, um...if you stay, I’ll heal you when I wake up.”**

**Kakashi eyed her warily. “Is that a good idea?”**

**Sakura squashed a good dozen scathing rebuttals. “No. Going to the hospital and getting treatment from a medic-nin with more than two years of training is a good idea. But I don’t think you’re going to do that.”**

**Kakashi flinched. “No, I’d prefer not to.” ......he looked away, hiding his uncovered eye with her pillow. “...You can heal me?”**

**“Yeah.”..... Sakura grabbed her favourite blanket from the tangled mess of laundry in the corner and crawled onto her too short, too old couch. “Go to sleep.”**

**Later, Sakura blamed the silent sense of Kakashi’s chakra, buzzing in the dark like one third of what she wanted most, because she couldn’t possibly have been so stupid on her own.**

**“Why?” she whispered, when she thought he was asleep.**

**“There was nothing to look forward to,”...... Kakashi whispered back.**

**Sakura hugged a throw pillow to her chest and felt her age for the first time in months.**

**She wondered if that felt like losing your compassion, one patient at a time. “Do you like cake?”**

**“Not really.”......his voice was low.**

**“What do you like?”........she asked.**

**Kakashi was quiet for a long time. “Eggplant, I guess.”**

**Sakura sighed. “Eggplant is gross,”.... she muttered, resigned to taking one for the team.**

**Something inside her thrilled at the thought of ‘team’ and for once she didn’t bother to squash it.**

**“You don’t have to eat it,”...... Kakashi pointed out.**

**“Actually, I do,”....... Sakura said. “It’s my fifteenth birthday next week and I’m going to have a party and you’re the only one invited, so if you don’t show up then no one will, and I’ll have a party with no guests and I’ll be sad.” .....Sakura ran through the previous sentence and hoped that Kakashi could make sense of it. “And there will be eggplant.”**

**Kakashi laughed and maybe it sounded a bit like he was crying. “Something to look forward to?”**

**“Yeah. Now go to sleep and don’t die before my party.”**

  

**"Sasuke .... did he go?" ..... information that Itachi grabbed threw him to thinking.**

****Itachi took Sakura in his arms and put her against the wall of a house, and then went forward away. Iruka was next in line. Iruka as well as Sakura did not even know what happened to him. Itachi just showed up in front of him and .........** **

 

**IRUKA AND KAKASHI**

****

**Iruka was pleasantly buzzed, the sake in his hand only his fifth cup for the evening. He really was a lightweight, or hadn't been out to a party in a very long time. At this point, he could care less which it was. What was important were the crazy challenges going on between the two “Eternal Rivals” in front of him.**

**Unsurprisingly, it was Anko who came up with the next challenge. Or at least Iruka was going to blame her for it.**

**“Guy-kun, come here, and kiss me, eh?”......she was pretty drunk.**

**“Anko-san, that would be dishonorable and impolite to my dear friend Renka-san who youthfully and passionately agreed to attend this party with me.”....and here, Iruka saw the standard Might Guy “Nice Guy Pose.”**

**He snickered into his sake cup, and looked back up to see the Green Beast stroking his chin in thought. A shiver of unease passed through him as he could see an idea form in those passionate eyes.**

**“That does give me an idea, though, my " Eternal Rival" our next challenge.....,”.... could be heard muttering groans from every conscious Chunin and Jounin in the room, “......shall be a challenge of romance.”**

**Kakashi was the only one groaning now, Iruka saw. Everyone else, himself included, was intrigued.**

**“We shall choose an appropriate partner, and we shall see who is best. ”.......even in his drunken state, Gai had some propriety, it seemed, for the particulars of the contest were whispered into the masked nin's ear.**

**Kakashi seemed amenable to the challenge. Iruka watched his expression intensify for a moment, and then turn into that faux-cheerful expression. He wanted to wipe that expression off the man's face. He knew what it was like to run around with a fake smile, just to protect appearances. This wasn't that particular smile exactly.**

**That was more smile: “Do not underestimate masked Ninja” smile or “I'll fix everything, just you wait” smile.**

**Iruka groaned internally as he caught himself cataloging the other shinobi's expressions again. He shook his head, and watched to see which kunoichi would be unlucky enough to be dragged into this silliness.**

**Gai moved toward his date, and whispered in her ear. She gulped and nodded. Renka was a fairly new special jounin who appeared to have serious feelings for the green-clad man. This was probably a dream come true for the young lady.**  

**Iruka looked around:" Hm!" ....the only kunoichi left were Anko and Kurenai.**

**The rest had either wisely headed home, or were passed out drunk on the floor somewhere. Iruka had to draw back a little from his intense scrutiny. He had to be very careful if he didn't want anyone to find out his secret.**

**So, Umino Iruka was extremely surprised when a hand laid on his shoulder and a hot breath whispered in his ear. “Maa, sensei, would you mind being my partner for this challenge? It only seems fair.”....... Iruka slowly raised his head, and looked incredulously at the masked nin in front of him.**

**“Fair? How do you figure that, Hatake-san.”.....he imbued his tone with all the politeness his drink-fogged mind could muster.**

**Inside, he was ranting and raving about secrets not being so secret and this being the end of his life. He sounded like a genin kunoichi, at least to his own practiced mind.**

**Iruka had to admit that the older man was skilled at this. The hand on his shoulder moved slightly, squeezing that place on his neck, making him shiver in an entirely new way:"** **Kami-sama."**

**"Well, my green-clad rival has captured a young maiden who has been gazing his way for some time. It only seems fair that I find someone in the same position.”.....Iruka paused, and decided to take the usual tack.**

**Become incensed at something Kakashi said. “Hatake-san. I am not a maiden. I may be a simple chunin-sensei, but I am not – ”**

**Kakashi stopped him before he got to full steam. Slowly turning him around, his knowing gaze traveled slowly down the man's body. He'd decided to wear a simple yukata for the party, and that fact had him blushing deeply.**

**Kakashi's gaze didn't help matters. It seemed connected to his groin, hardening his cock a little every second. “Maa, I am fully aware of that, Sensei. I merely mean that you are in the same position in reference to me that Kashiko-kan is to Gai. Can you deny it, mmmm?”**

**Iruka shivered again at the emphasis on the word “fully.” He knew then that his predicament had not gone unnoticed. Mortification warred with a tiny sliver of hope.**

**“What is this challenge, then, Kakashi-san?”.....he refused to acknowledge that the other man was right.**

**He didn't have to.**

**“Eh. Merely a kiss.”....there was mischief in that eye.**

**The prankster-turned-sensei could spot it a mile away.**

**“Riiight. Merely a kiss.” .....but the thought made him harder because he hadn't been sure it was possible.**

**Gai interrupted them. “It is time, my Honorable Rival! Anko-san has promised to be our unbiased officiator. Did you explain the rules?”**

**“Maa, no. I think it will be pretty obvious, Gai.”..... Iruka noticed that Kakashi enjoyed the look of unease that crossed Gai's face.**

**“Well, then. Let the challenge commence!” ......Gai called and before he could say anything, Iruka was summarily pushed up against the wall, treated to a split-second view of the man behind the mask, and then a light touch of hot lips on his own.**

**The feather-light kisses were the only touch Iruka had, though his body was screaming for more. The agile ninja had stuck his hands to the wall above Iruka's head, and was communicating with only the touch of his lips. After only a short moment, the touch began to gradually intensify. Iruka tried to open his mouth further and cooperate more fully, but Kakashi wouldn't let him. He seemed to have a pattern, or a strategy, and Iruka was senseless against the onslaught. Finally, much too late for Iruka's way of thinking, Kakashi opened his mouth, and tapped Iruka's tongue with his own, inviting it back into the other mouth.**

**Iruka had to use every skill he had to keep breathing. Between the hot, heavy pants his system required now, and the assault on his mouth, his normal breathing was completely interrupted. He switched to breathing through his nose, and then pushed back a little. This wasn't a contest anymore. This was sex. This was something more. At least in Iruka's mind. Slowly, the pressure built in him, and he pushed back even harder. His tongue ravaged Kakashi's mouth, sweeping around and discovering dark corners, returning back to attempt to twist around the tongue doing the same to him.**

**He arced his body forward, attempting to gain some friction for his cock. It didn't work; Kakashi arced with him, keeping just a thin band of air between them. He groaned, needing more. The battling tongues sped up, and then finally, he let go, soaking the front of his pants.**

**Kakashi pulled back slowly, and smile was on his face. Iruka, dazed and still buzzed, lifted his arms and wrapped them around the man's neck. With a burst of self-confidence and recklessness that he would probably later attribute to this gleeful, boneless feeling coursing through his body, he leaned forward and whispered in the other man's ear.**

**“Kakashi, it's definitely more fun naked.” ....with that, he gave a saucy wink, and turned away, not even noticing nor caring about Kakshi's dumfounded expression, or that Gai was exclaiming loudly about how his “Hip and Cool Eternal Honorable Rival had Bested Him again!”**

 

**"Kakashi again!" ....... Itachi could not believe it: "But everything is sweet, my sweet baby has an end. I'm sorry, Iruka! I still have a lot of work in Konoha!".... laughed wicked. "Cute little revenge!"**

 

T **SUNADE AND NARUTO**

 

**Tsunade was powerful ninja, however, and she became the prey of Itachi . Of course they were all caught in the surprise. Nobody expected that the Akatsuki sneaked into the village.**

**"And just what do you think you are doing in here, Gaki!? I was actually on a roll with this never-ending chain of paperwork until you showed your sunny cranium into my office!"......Tsunade is under the eye looked at Naruto.**

**"Oh yeah, Baa-chan!?-" .....Naruto sighed, and forced himself to relax. "I just came back from my mission and I thought that you of all people would like to know that I came back safe from Rice country.".....the blond folded his arms across his chest and stared at a painting on the opposite wall, a slight pout across his features.**

**Naruto felt his spirits lighten as a small smile graced the full lips of the acting Hokage. Naruto made it his mission to turn any frown upside down. With a sigh, Tsunade retook her vacant seat and once again began to look over the papers that were hiding the surface of her cherry wood desk from view.**

**"Is that all?" .....she asked, slowly arching a groomed brow.**

**"Cause if it is, I want you to sit,"...... the pig-tailed Hokage gestured to a heavy leather chair tucked in the corner:"And make your verbal report immediately."**

**A nervous smile graced Naruto's face as he scratched the back of his head:" Well!" .........the younger blond of the pair drawled out:"I really didn't come out here to....." "Well that figures." .......Tsunade interrupted as she stood once more, crossing her hands in front of her, leaning forward across the desk.**

**Despite the fact that Naruto claimed he was anti-pervert, he couldn't help but notice that her arms pushed her breast together; accentuating her already noticeable anatomy.**

**"So why are you here."...... she stated, her hazel eyes softly searching his own cerulean orbs.**

**Naruto held up his hands in a defeated manner, quickly waving them in front of his chest:" Mate', mate', I'm getting to that...."**

**A bored expression flashed across the active Hokage's soft features: "So why are you here, Gaki?"**

**The granddaughter of the Shodaime couldn't help but smile and suppress a bout of soft laughter as a the younger blond in front of her became frustrated, his body posture flickered from anger, to disdain, and finally to defeat; which was characterized by his hanging head and slumped shoulders.**

**Naruto gave up, and pulled off the pack from his back, and after rummaging around for a few moments, he produced what looked to be a very expensive tiger wood case, complete with a shiny lacquer, and the kanji for "Okayama" skillfully carved into the front.**

**"I came to give you this."......Naruto said and took a deep breath.**

**Tsunade stared at him in disbelief as he opened the casing, giving her a full view of two transparent glass bottles.**

**One bottle was of a blue hue, and the other, a Smokey caramel. Hesitant, she slowly traced her fingers across the kanji etched into the colored glass bottles; one read 'Ice' and '78', and the other read 'Hickory' and '81'.**

**The descriptions hinted at the flavors, and the numbers were how long they were distilled for.**

**Tsunade looked up at her almost otou: "Are these really?"**

**A proud smile crept its way onto Naruto's face. Yup, Okayama sake. Famous throughout Rice Country, and the world for having the best sake and is revered for its old, traditional style of brewing.**

**This brand was so expensive, and so rare, that prices for it were sky-high, even the greatest sake enthusiast could only dream of coming with fifteen feet of a bottle; much less hold one in their hands.**

**Hell, even the Emperor of Fire Country had to come in person to obtain a bottle, it was that expensive and as part of quality control, the minimum sales age of sake of this caliber was thirty years, and not a day younger.**

**On top of all of this, it would cost Tsunade her entire yearly salary for even a half-liter of this legendary alcohol, yet in his hands sat two one-liter bottles; not to mention still in their vintage tiger wood casing.**

**Tsunade was in awe. "Naruto...how did you?"**

**Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment; sure this sake looked expensive, but was it really that awe inspiring?**

**To the young blond, sake is sake is sake; they all taste similar and they all get you drunk, what made this particular brand any different from the others?**

**Even though it didn't quite click in his mind, Naruto's first clue should have been the fact nearly every man or woman who saw him with the case tried to kill him...but like every other small detail, that too slipped his mind; filed under 'Find Out Significance at a Later Date'.**

**Naruto finally spoke up:"Well, yanno, my usual deal.**

**Stop for a rest at the local sake brewery, thwart a robbery, befriend the owner and family, and find myself arranged to marry yet another pretty girl...the usual stuff."**

**Tsunade stared at Naruto in disbelief.**

**"What was the man's name?" Naruto closed the case up, and locked it before handing it to Tsunade.**

**To the blond Tsunade, it was like having heaven handed to her on a silver platter, she gingerly placed the sake laden container on her desk before returning her gaze to the young man in front of her desk.**

**Hands free from super expensive-wait, scratch that, INSANELY expensive sake, he tapped his chin in thought, blond brows furrowed in concentration below the black cloth of his forehead protector.**

**"Ummm...Okayama Sanyo I believe and his daughter..." .....Naruto let out a near silent lecherous giggle, something that didn't go unnoticed by the Hokage, before continuing.**

**"Okayama Achika..." Ugh, next time she caught sight of Jiraiya, she was going to beat the hell out of him for having his perverseness rub off onto her little brother. But she let it slide for now, because her suspicions were confirmed, this was the sake of drinking legend; and the name of the Great, great grandson of the founder of the Okayama sake proved it.**

**"Did you know, Naruto, that it would cost me a full year's salary to get my hands on even a half-liter of this ambrosia?".......her eyes shone like the sun.**

**Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head...and to think that he had considered giving the stuff away...against her better judgment, she handed the box back to the hyperactive ninja...it was killing her to do this...but she couldn't...she wouldn't take something like this... All of her fears and doubts were laid to rest as he set the tiger wood box in front of her. "Think of this as payment...for assuming the role of Hokage...when no one else would. I owe you that much, don't I?".....she sighed heavily.**

**Tsunade saw the younger blonde's cerulean orbs sparkle in conjunction with an embarrassed smile. His expression changed with the next statement.**

**"Besides, if you don't accept, I could always give the stuff to that old pervert. No doubt that he would put it to good use.".....she was trying to make him take back a gift.**

**Good use her ass. That damned pervert would sell the stuff, and purchase his own little harem, and would have plenty of money left over to get drunk and 'research' for his next ludicrous 'novel'.**

**Naruto reached for the box, but his hand was promptly slapped away by Tsunade; a playful smirk across her face, but her hazel eyes shimmered.**

**Naruto smiled. The Hokage looked at the young man in front of her, tears welling up in her eyes. No one besides her grandfather had given something to her as a gift for a long time...and to think that the tiger wood box she held to her breast contained two bottles of the finest sake in the world.**

**It was overwhelming how self-less the blond knuckle head could be.**

**"Naruto, I don't know how I could ever thank you.".....a single tear traveled down her face as she closed her eyes, but what happened next came as a surprise.**

**She felt a pair of warm lips against her forehead, and a strong pair of arms wrap around her shoulders, pushing her face into a well muscled chest.**

**A soft sob escaped from her lips as she wrapped her arms around his mid-section.**

**"Shhhh..." .....his warm voice cooed, all the while strong hands gently stroked her hair ".....please, don't cry. You know I hate it when women cry."**

**He held her for a couple more minutes before breaking away to look into her eyes. Naruto wiped away her tears with this wrist.**

**"Look at you," ......he said, wiping a tear from his own eye."You are a mess! Your eyes are puffy, your nose is running, and I think your age reversal jutsu is failing.**

**But I wouldn't have you any other way. Have a nice day, Tsunade-chan." .....with that he placed another kiss on her forehead, before disappearing in a poof of smoke, no doubt one of the techniques he learned from Yiraiya.**

**Tsunade smiled, a warm fuzzy feeling crept across her belly and wrapped around her heart. The Hokage touched her forehead, all of the memories of when they first met flashed through her mind...and the she punched out a window, causing the ANBU listening in on the conversation to scatter to the four winds.**

**"DAMNIT NARUTO! THIS ISN'T A JUTSU!"**

****

**"Tsunade you'll never change!" ..... Itachi laughed. When you changed your mind to become a Hokage. "..... Itachi thought "What is happening in Konoha?"".**

 

** KAKASHI AND NARUTO **

** **

 

**"It's impressive that despite not being an Uchiha, you can still use the Sharingan with such proficiency. However, your blood is not like ours, thus you are less suited to use it."......Itachi surprised Kakashi.**

**Kakashi grimaced internally. 'Unfortunately, he's right. I tire easily.'**

**"Why is the Uchiha clan known as the strongest?" .....Itachi mused.**

**He closed his eyes, and despite how it should seem like an opening for attack, Kakashi felt himself tense. He was going beyond high alert into something that was more like extreme, constant paranoia.**

**"I will let you experience the true power of the Sharingan... our clan's real strength!"......Itachi said.**

**"Shit!** **Both of you under no circumstances are to open your eyes!" ......he snapped.**

**The panic was evident in his voice, a clear contrast from his normally mild tone. Though startled, Asuma and Kurenai were quick to obey the ex-Anbu captain's command, both squeezing their eyes shut.**

**Kakashi closed his right eye and stared straight ahead with his Sharingan, hoping it would be enough, hoping it could match up to whatever hellish power the traitor Uchiha had gained...a very heavy feeling of dread settled in his stomach.**

**"Listen carefully: do not open your eyes. If you do, that's the end." ......he instructed grimly, in a flat tone that allowed no protest."It's most likely that only another Sharingan can counter this."**

**Itachi was confused: "Who speaks to Kakashi when he is alone?"**

**"Correct – as long as one has the Sharingan, it is possible to resist this Mangekyou Sharingan," .....Itachi remarked carelessly. "But this is a special ability of my doujutsu: the genjutsu Tsukuyomi. Only another Sharingan user with the same blood as me can hope to counter it!"**

**"Sasuke!".......he realised. "Crap."**

**Then Itachi opened his eyes, and three things happened in front of Kakashi. Three very terrible things, which would haunt him for a long time to come.**

**A very familiar blonde blur barrelled into Kakashi. Grimly determined blue eyes met Itachi's blood-red ones, a black pinwheel-like shape already formed in each.**

**As Itachi snarled: "Tsukuyomi!" ......despite his surprise, Naruto flicked a kunai towards his own neck.**

**The world swirled into red.**

**"In the realm of Tsukuyomi, I control everything... space, time, even the mass of objects," .....Itachi's emotionless voice droned. "For the next seventy-two hours, I will continuously stab you with these katanas."**

**There was no fear in Naruto's eyes as the sword plunged into his gut. As Kakashi made a mad lunge for the boy, the kunai pierced his throat with deadly accuracy and buried itself up to the handle in Naruto's neck.**

**"Fifty-two hours, thirteen minutes and ten secund..."......the crimson world jerked violently, shattering, and Itachi felt himself flung out of the genjutsu.**

**He ignored the blood that trailed from his eyes and struggled to get over his disorientation. There was no way to break his Tsukuyomi. Not a single person had ever, ever managed to dispel his strongest – the strongest – genjutsu.**

**His head spun. "Just what did the Kyuubi boy do?"**

**Blood sprayed. Both of Kakashi's eyes were stretched wide in horror.**

**The other two jounin exclaimed in surprise, asking what in the world just happened; Asuma's hands were balled into tense fists, and Kurenai had bitten through the skin of her lip to stop herself from opening her eyes. They were worried, anxious, fearful.**

**But Kakashi did not care. Not when his student was dying dead and it was all his fault, again. He barely caught the falling boy.**

**Naruto struggled to speak, but his vocal cords had been cut clean through along with his windpipe and the damned jugular, and nothing but more blood made its way out of his mouth.**

**Kakashi's flak jacket was stained scarlet as he shoved his chakra into one of the few medical ninjutsus he knew, but Naruto was not healing:" Why wasn't he healing?".....he knew it was a fatal wound. But – Was Kyuubi's chakra not enough to heal him? Was Kakashi's medical jutsu and Naruto's own regenerative abilities not enough to save him? The boy was able to bounce back from everything or so Kakashi had thought, and he prayed, let this not be an exception...m** **aybe he's a Kage Bunshin, his mind rambled distractedly. Maybe he's just a Kage Bunshin and the real Naruto hid himself somewhere else. Naruto tends to jump into stuff but he'd never do something like this just to save me from Itachi, right?"**

**It was uncharacteristic of him to give in to panic and desperation, especially in the middle of a battle.**

**"But...come on... it has to be a Kage Bunshin. There's no way Naruto would kill himself, no way he would die..."......even the famous and infamous Copy Ninja was only human.** **"But Kage Bunshin don't bleed. Humans do. Kage Bunshin disappear when hit. Humans get injured, and humans die."**

**He knelt there on the dark red surface of water, a dying student in his arms, his failure to protect his comrades crushing his shoulders, and horror,fury grief shaking him, keep still! He must not injure the boy any further.**

**A hand tugged weakly on his sleeve, and he tore his eyes away from Naruto's frowning face and pained eyes to see his hands slowly forming hand-signs.**

**"Sorry... don't panic I'm okay... this... not... what you..."......the corners of the boy's mouth twitched upwards weakly, trying to reassure his distraught sensei.**

**His Sharingan spun furiously as it etched the disjointed message into his memory, reflecting the colour of blood and:" Oh, Kami, all that blood."**

**His eye and Itachi's eyes, his green jacket and Naruto's orange jacket, his pale hands and his silver hair and his dark blue mask... they were all one colour.**

**The colour of blood,** **the colour of death a** **nd then he realised : "Black is for mourning, and red is for dying."**

**He sensed movement, head snapping up on instinct and this time there was no one to save him (even though he shouldn't be saved, shouldn't because he was not worth it and never had been) as he was dragged into another Tsukuyomi, as he was pulled away from reality and failure and Naruto and his student's death.....but Itachi was significantly weakened when Tsukuyomi was forcibly broken (when brave, reckless Naruto killed himself), and Kakashi could tell – the Uchiha's bleeding red eyes held less menace than before, unwillingly showing bewilderment and discomfort.**

**Kakashi barely registered the pain as Itachi stabbed him, even as a ragged: "Aaargh!" ....tore its way out of his mouth. (It tore out of his throat, like the knife tore Naruto's neck.)**

**He refused to make any sound after that, and showed no acknowledgement of pain, focussing on hate and fury and he realised that he really wanted to kill Uchiha Itachi.**

**In an act of fierce defiance (it would have made Naruto proud), Kakashi forced his body to move and stabbed a kunai – the same kunai that had killed his student forward blindly. It felt like he was trying to move something from far, far away, trying to connect to something that was not there. He almost expected nothing to happen, as Tsukuyomi was supposed to prevent the victim from moving and attacking anymore.**

**Itachi coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The genjutsu realm shuddered.** **But it did not break a** **nd then that bastard finally caught on to something. The traitorous Uchiha made him relive the exact moment of his student's sacrifice instead.**

 **This time, he screamed. He yelled in fury and grief and denial, because there was just too much blood, too much dying, too much sacrifice and too much that were his fault.** **Something broke. Maybe it was him.**

 **He remembered finding his father in the study, broken and bleeding to death over the tatami mats "I'm sorry, Kakashi."; Obito crushed under that rock ("I don't care what the village says, 'cause you're a great ninja, Kakashi..."); Obito giving him his Sharingan ("Sorry... From now on, I will become your eye and see the future for you."), Sensei falling as his soul was taken ("Sorry, Kakashi... Take care of yourself and look out for Naruto for me, okay?") and Naruto trying to smile one last smile at him even as blood poured and poured out of his neck**. **:"Sorry..."**

**"Why were they apologising? " ......he was the one who should be sorry, and he was the one who should not have lived and for the first time in Hatake Kakashi's life, he truly wished for death for he had failed.**

**He stumbled back unsteadily as Kakashi lunged forward with a Raikiri, murder in his eyes.**

**None of them realised that through all of his attacks, Kakashi had not once let go of the boy with bloodstained blond hair and glazed blue eyes.**

**Panting heavily, Kakashi collapsed onto the water surface. The last thing his mind registered was the body of his dead student slipping out of his arms, sliding out from his slackened grip and slowly sinking into the lake. He tried to grab the boy's jacket, but he could not lift his arm... it was too heavy, and he could not move...**

**His mind slipped away into unconsciousness, where nothing but pain, guilt and loss awaited him.**

 

**Itachi catch information about an event that has not occurred. "There's something wrong in Konoha! I've only used the sharingan? It is impossible to have this effect! "**

 

**INO AND SHIKAMARU**

****

**Ino is like all the rest was easy prey for Itachi.**

**It was summer, and in the house was hot. Ino went out of the house and looked at the sky. She decided to walk up to her favorite places and spend some time alone.** **She was tired but could not sleep. On top of a small hill, there is a large oak tree. It was the best place during summer heats.**

**The night wind gently blowing, and her face lit up:" Finally a little refreshment!"**

**She decided to sit down on the grass and watch the shooting stars. But when she got to the place was already busy.** **Shikamaru was already lying on the grass. She crouched down and gently her finger stabbed in his shoulder.**

**He opened his sleepy eyes and looked at her.**

**"Can I sit with you." .... she asked.**

**He shook his head and closed his eyes again.**

**Ino sat down and took a deep breath: "Tonight the stars seen in its full glory." .... her gaze was directed towards the sky.**

**"One of the stars from the sky came down to me very close!" ..... Shikamaru said to lazily: "How troublesome?"**

**Ino was slightly flushed and laughed softly: "May I ask for one wish?"**

**"Only one wish if you please!" .... Shikaku got up and pulled her close.**

**"How troublesome!" .... she said and continued. "I want, I want .... see another star has fallen." ..... she yelled and pointed in the direction where the star fell.**

**"Ino! Tonight the stars are falling for you. You are beautiful!" ..... pulled her behind him on the grass and stood over her.**

**"This star will fulfill your wish!" ..... get down and gently kissed her on the mouth:"This is more powerful, I can not go against my wishes. "....he whispered:"See anything you like?"....he mocked.**

**Ino nodded slightly reddened."You..." ....he just chuckled:"How troublesome!".....he was smiling with a hungry look in his eyes.**

**He slowly descended to her mouth, looking into her eyes and lowered his wet tongue on her lips. She opened her mouth and took his tongue in her mouth hot and by the way she curled the body towards him.**

**She put her hands around his neck and pulled him toward her. Two bodies were drowned in the sea of heat and she and he saw stars before his eyes.** **One arm wandering over her body and slowly crept warm hand under her shirt. His touch hands with her hot body in her caused moans.**

 **While he loved and played with her tongue with his other hand explored the bare skin that created heat wherever he went. When his hand came up to her breasts, she again moaned softly.** **He slowly pulled the tongue out of her hot mouth and played her lips gently nibbling. She screwed body underneath with a sign of protest.**

**"Ino! Slowly, tonight is it just you and me." .... his voice was hoarse.**

**"Nara I want you!" ..... she licked her lips.**

**He lowered his lips to her neck and wandering with a wet tongue on the lines in all directions and reached the ear. He nibbled her arrest and the tongue wandering through him. She again moaned and cried. On the other hand with fingers caressed her breasts gently squeezing her nipples.**

**She felt the hardness of his sexual organ as in her further amplifier increase the heat. It has its hands trying to reach the point where she felt his hardness.** **When she managed to get to him gently wandering fingers of pressure on him and squeezed slowly.**

**He groaned, moaned and bit his lower lip, "Inoo" ..... he dropped the shrill sound of the mouth.**

  ****

**"Shine, shine, Little Star" ..... Itachi was humming and said: "Sweet dreams Ino! **How troublesome!** "**


	35. Fifteen days before the Chuunin exam Konoha is in disarray II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JIRAIYA AND TSUNADE  
> LEE AND SAKURA  
> KIBA AND HINATA  
> HINATA AND TEN TEN  
> CHOUJI AND SHIKAMARU.......borrowed ideas

**JIRAIYA AND TSUNADE**

** **

**'ll tell you about my life and why I hardly breathe. No one will love you like me, never. My biggest memory is the day we met. My greatest sorrow distance which separates us. Tsunade you've been through my stories passionately and in each you leave the square. I got it but it was too late.**

**Time has passed, the years have passed, our youth is behind us. I was alone, because never to be to return our youth. You did not want my hands, not your love gave to me, and not your heart you did not give me.**

**Every word from you it still hurts. My heart does not stop the hurts, because it still loves you. I would have given my all to you only if you are here next to me.**

**Lost in thought Jiraiya was deep in thought.**

**"Jiraiya, I dare you! Tonight let's play poker only two of us."......he heard her whisper next to his ear.**

**He almost fell on the floor from the chair, because he would never expect her to come to his room.**

**"P...P...Poker, you said, huh!?".....he was confused, not knowing what is going on:" You're drunk Tsunede. Please go until it's too late.".....he warned her:"I think tonight I will not be able to be a gentleman."**

**"Well then, let's start the game. If I win, you will be my favorite all night Jiraiya !!".......she stared at the green bottle, and then she drank it at once.**

**"Tsunade!".....he said quietly, very dangerous voice."Go to your room. You're drunk!"**

**"Be my "favorite " this night!"......she insisted: "Please Jiraiya!"**

**"Are you crazy, woman?".......he was losing patience.**

**"Never, ever call me that. As I said, I want you, and you better follow my rules!".....she was approached with feline step.**

**He began breathing heavily and he decides, "Okay ... well, ....poker is a good game. I just I can not allow you to win. OK, let's play!".....he laughed loudly.**

**"No, that's impossible."..... she laughed with half closed eyes watching his every move:"I bet I'll win tonight!"....she sent him a poker face.**

**"Tsunade, do you hate me because I am whole life was perverted selfish clown? Why provoke me in this way? You do not love me, you still love Dan Kato. " ......he waited a few seconds before she came with her first words.**

**"N-No, I love you... just the way you are... this is not only your fault!".... he felt the heavy stone inside his heart falls to the ground.**

**He looked deep into her beautiful brown eyes that he always loved to watch:"Hold me, Jiraiya."......he has been waiting for her to utter these words.**

**"Huh!?".......he was speechless.**

**"Hold your arms around me... i feel myself so dizzy..."......her bright eyes with a view cat hunts were too challenging for him.**

**"I told you, did not you? You drank too much wine. You drank all in one gulp my little kitten." ...... he took into his arms and pulled her body tightly to itself:"Tsunade, please do not play with me. Please do not give me false hope."......his voice was trembling slightly.**

**"Jiraiya ... do not leave me again ... never ... never ... stay with me forever ... please ... Jiraiya: I do not want to be alone!" ...... her voice yarn in a whisper, and he heard a sob.**

**"My little wild cat I have no intention of leaving you. Not now! Never again! I'll be with you until the end, forever my love.".....he wiped her tears:"I love you from the very beginning!"......he lifted her head and kissed her gently.**

**"Now! Make love to me ... I want you to feel, deep down, Jiraiya."....her voice was very quiet as quiet flow in the river.**

**In her eyes, he saw the answer and he did not wait. He kissed her lips and tasted the wine that it is more is aroused to play with and to make a mess of her lips, mouth and tongue. She closed her eyes yielding to lust and passion, desire that she felt. He had his hands around her buttocks and he was lifted her and moved slowly to the table.**

**She hands grabbed his neck by allowing him to do what he pleases with her body. She was relaxed, drunk and intoxicated with wine and his firm, strong and muscular body. She cried, she wanted so badly.**

**All the years that followed she wanted to go back to the beginning, she wanted him for the first time, Jiraiya, who was there when she needed him. It is time for a new beginning, mourning for the lost had passed, she decided to live again as a woman.**

**He felt it his whole being, he knew what she wanted and he would give it to her. Not one word was no longer spoken, all is said and the two of them fell into a game of passion, lust, receiving and giving, a game that requires two willing at all to the end.**

**It was the best episode, superbly written book that Jiraiya always wanted, and final** ly **he created the book with the best ending.**

 

  **"Jiraiya will not be so easy to get Tsunade. Sweet dreams Jiraiya." ...... Itachi is increasingly appreciated its small vicious game.**

 

**LEE AND SAKURA**

**Lee was very nervous. More nervous than it was ever before.**

**When he went to ask Sakura meeting in two, he did not expect that she says "Yes."**

**Sakura was always crazy about Sasuke, and no one believed that it would so easily give up on him but they were there, the two of them together at lunch in the restaurant.**

**Sakura was beautiful and Lee felt grateful to her, because they all could see that they were together. Her beautiful green eyes sparkled and looked only at him.**

 

**Lee felt like a prince at her side, because she was a princess in a magical land. He was very happy and his happiness knew no bounds."**

**"Lee?" ..... Sakura is a melodious voice called him and pulled him out of happy thoughts and Lee looked at her.**

**She looks at him with interest, with head slightly tilted to the side. She had her cup halfway to her lips, and looked as if she had forgotten it was there in the restaurant.**

**"Are you all right? You look a bit red in the face."**

**"I'm all right, Sakura-chan." ..... Lee had a small smile as he picked up the menu, to block her pretty face with green eyes: "Just a little hot!" .... behind the menu list he slightly began to sweat.**

**He swallowed hard and he tried to focus on the list of food in front of him. Although he looked words, they did not register in his mind. His thoughts are escaping to her pink hair and lips that were probably sweet.**

**"Oh, man, Gay sensei where you are now. I have a problem!" .... Lee is even more sweating.**

**"There's so much to choose from." ..... Lee said, trying to start a conversation.**

**So far, they sat in silence, except when the waitress came to their table to see what they are going to order.**

**"Yes, there is." ..... Sakura nodded, even though Lee could not see behind his menu.**

**She did not know when, she did not know how or why, but she began to love him. He had occasionally honored cakes, he praised her abilities in the super control chakras and told her the story of Gai-sensei. He really was very sweet, and Sakura often wondered how would have felt to be with him .**

**With him was fun. She had a smile on his lips, because she knew how he feels now. She had already gone through the Sasuke who was now already forgotten story. In the end he chose Ino.**

**The waitress came for the third time to their table.**

**"I want to order pink lips .... uh .... uh ... I wanted to tell the cake" Pink Sweet Dreams " with strawberries and cherries in cream." .... he was red as a boiled lobster.**

**"I will order a green beast ... ahem I wanted to tell pancakes Sombrero" ..... now she blushed as Lee.**

**They were again asked what to drink, and she was barely holding back laughter.**

**"I want juice of wild roses." .....said Lee .**

**"Me green smoothie." ..... said Sakura.**

**"You two are like a Japanese cherry blossom!" .... she said with a laugh.**

**"She's right!" ...... Sakura smiled:" He was so cute when he blushed."....they both had the same thought.**

**She bent over the table and tried to keep his hands off his face. "Lee!" ..... She called softly, "I think you I....." ...... she did not get the word, because someone had a nasty grin on his face.**

****

**"Now my heart is the most difficult, My heart can not love, Heart loves green eyes, Although they were unfaithful.".....Itachi gently humming.**

 

**KIBA AND HINATA**

**It was only her colleagues for a long time, so when Hinata came up to him after the training, he was surprised. She blushed and began to falter, as she usually did, and Kiba thought it was very sweet to her.**

**She said she watched him while he trained:"Kiba you every day very well making progress!" ....... he slowly reddened, because Hinata at him with a smile looked like he was only in the world.**

**"Kiba shall we go for lunch? "....she suddenly wondered what him really surprised.**

**"Yes, I am already hungry!" .... his immediate response was positive .**

**Kiba is nervously pacing around the room, waiting to come six hours.Their training is extended and they did not go to lunch but were postponed meeting at six o'clock. Now it's Kiba waited impatiently to type hour six times. He did not know what to say to her.**

**They were teammates for years and suddenly their new relationship just waiting to bloom. He could not say that he was excited, but he was too nervous, so he kept circling over his room. Ten minutes before six o'clock, Kiba was tired of waiting and he left the house.**

**"Akamaru you're going this time to stay at home, I'm sorry I'd like to be alone with her." ..... he scratched him between the ears and said: "You be good while I'm gone!"**

**Kiba felt bad for him, but he wanted the dinner to go smoothly. If things go well enough played out between the two of them, he hoped to be able to go more often to dinner or meeting for two at a romantic place.**

**Hinata was waiting in a place where they agreed. She had a little shy smile, slightly red cheeks, but Kiba felt his heart beating faster.**

**"Hey, Hinata." .... he smiled and raised his hand in greeting:""Where do we go Hinata?"**

**"Well, there is a Ichiraku. Ramen is always a good thing for dinner." ...... she suggested with a low voice.**

**"I like that!" ..... Kiba smiled, holding his hands behind his head. It does not matter where they are eaten, it is important that he was with her.**

**It only took a few minutes to the restaurant. They went inside and found a table. The restaurant was almost full, but he did not care. He would have waited forever with the Hinata, if it meant for him to be in her company.**

**Dinner was pleasant, talked about the many things that they did not feel that the time flew by very quickly.**

**"Kiba, I'm glad I spent the evening in your company but I have to go!" .... When it came time to go home she went with a heavy heart.**

**"Hinata, wait! I'll escort you home." ..... Kiba said.**

**"Kiba?" .... Hinata wanted to ask you something.**

**Her voice was soft and quiet, and her cheeks were slightly red when he had looked into her eyes. His eyes were full of joy and had a softness.**

**"Well, it does not matter!" .... she giggled and looked down.**

**She wanted to tell him how she had fun with it, that not a single moment with him was not boring, but her words stuck in his throat. Kiba squeezed her hand briefly, just to show his love, and he looked down with a small smile on his lips.**

**He knew what she wanted to say, and he was happy that she feels the same as he was himself. It's no secret that Hinata liked to be with him because her smiles were saying all he hoped that she would understand how much he cares about her.**

**Kiba blinked in confusion, when he dropped something on the nose: "Rain!" ... he looked at the sky and pulled Hinata under the canopy of the tree.**

**The rain began to fall harder, but they did not mind.**

**"Hinata I like you a lot!" .... Kiba said, and pulled her into a hug.**

**When her breath said, "Kiba I know, because I ......" ...... suddenly began to thunder and he did not hear her words.**

 

 

**Itachi laughed: "Nice!" .... and he begin to hum. "I'm singin' in the rain Just singin' in the rain What a glorious feelin' I'm happy again.**

**I'm laughing at clouds.** **So dark up above The sun's in my heart And i'm ready for love."**

 

**HINATA AND TEN TEN**

****

**"The recipe says to add two eggs."..... Hinata said, reading off the index card between her fingers.**

**Ten Ten cracked an egg on the rim of the bowl, and added the yolk to the flour in the bowl.**

**"Once you add the other egg, mix the flour and stuff in the bowl."......Hinata is still read slowly.**

**Why not Sakura made the cake? I do not know how to cook. And the whole of this mixing I'm getting hungry. "....." Ten Ten whined and she added another egg in a bowl and began to mix them.**

**"Sakura has training with Tsunade." ..... Hinata said.**

**When the egg amalgamate she were added to the second mixture and again mixers.**

**"Shikamaru's birthday today, and Sakura gave job Ino and Chouji to make a birthday card.".....Hinata is her stubbornly explained.**

**Hinata began to lose patience, because the index cards he received from Sakura nothing she could not read. Sakura handwriting was not legible, hurried and sloppy.**

**"For God's sake, I can not read anything from here." ..... and threw a card on the table.**

**Ten Ten stop mixing for a moment and read the next line that is followed in the recipe.**

**"I am hungry." .... Ten Ten sighed as she looked at the strawberries and whipped cream, she continued mix the mixture.**

**When he finally've composed, the mixture is more like a glue.**

**"I think we've done something wrong!" .... Ten Ten suspiciously watched the sticky mixture.**

**"No problem! We'll see what will come out when the baked crust for the cake." .... Hinata said and added:" I think we can eat what will remain.**

**If correct her recipe will remain plenty of ingredients. I think we bought a little too much! " Ten Ten poured the mixture into the baking tray and she takes a baking sheet with the mixture and then put it all together in the oven at a temperature that is Sakura wrote.**

**Ten Ten returned to the table and she quickly mixed with cream and melted chocolate in which she dip strawberries.**

**"Damn, I'm really hungry!" .... she is licking like a cat that has caught his prey: "Meow, yum!" .... made a sound like a cat.**

**When it was over she took two tablespoons. She gave one Hinata and the two begin eating whipped cream. Ten Ten suddenly remembered the way for fun, strawberry in chocolate dip in whipped cream and handed it to Hinata. Hinata ducked and took in her mouth strawberry with chocolate and whipped cream.**

**Then with pleasure licked her lips and she offer now strawberry Ten Ten. She wanted to take her strawberry but strawberry Hinata slip away from her.**

**Ten ten groaned and took the whipped cream in her hand and threw Hinata's face.**

**Ten Ten has had to face a triumphant smile and licked my fingers like a cat, "Gotcha, Hinata." ....... he laughed, wiping his fingers on the bowl.**

**"Ten Ten! ..." said Hinata alert tone, wiping whipped cream with a forearm.**

**Hinata whit incredible speed dipped his hand into the whipped cream and a swing to her, and smear whipped cream on her face from her hair to her lips. In a flash of Ten Ten planted a foot Hinata and pushed her to the floor dragging with them a bowl with cream. Bowl with strawberries in chocolate falls off the table and strawberries dropped by Hinata and Hinata caught one in her mouth.**

**Ten Ten bent down and grabbed the other end of strawberries with her lips. "Sweet!" ..... Ten Ten licked her lips and she continued to lick the whipped cream with Hinatina face.**

**"What are you doing, Ten Ten?" ..... Hinata said, her voice trembling, still not able to free her hands.**

**With half way across Ten Ten is licked her chin, cheeks and eyelids until she reached the roots of the hair on her forehead.**

**"I wipe you!" .... she said, she kick off to lick the other side of the face: "I told you that I'm hungry!"**

**When she returned back stopped at her lips where there was chocolate. There she paused as she wondered what to do now.**

**"What are you waiting for? There’s still some left."....Hinata told her.**

**Ten Ten gasp softly: "Meow!" .... and bent to she licked the last trace, short stop and she his tongue licked his lips between her two parted lips.**

**She then continued on his way up, until all traces of chocolate and whipped cream is not lost. When she moved away, Hinata watched her with a strange gleam in her eyes. Her hand found its way to the neck of Ten Ten and she pulled her on yourself.**

**Their lips met. The kiss was sweet and gentle. Ten Ten drop gentle breath and gently pushed her tongue in her her mouth. The kiss lasted a few short minutes, and when Ten Ten pulled away, it was hard to catch her breath. Hinata was in a similar situation, but she offered her best smile.**

**"Damn something's burning!" .... they both shouted in unison.**

**She jumped from Hinata and hurried to the stove to open the door, "Oh, damn, the cake was burned." she grabbed a dish towel and pulled a baking pan out, "Sakura will kill us, Hinata. We destroyed Shikamaru cake for his birthday."**

**"We warned her!" ..... Hinata stood next to her, staring into the baking pan. She looked back toward Ten Ten and make a grin.**

**"You know what we'll buy a ready-made cake!" ...... Ten Ten grabbed a knife from the drawer and open the lid off the jar in which it was chocolate.**

**Her head is gone another idea and smiled and dipped his finger in the chocolate and smeared lips of Hinata. Certainly, and Hinata had the same idea, because she is not licking chocolate immediately.**

**Instead, she grabbed Ten Ten and pulled her close and kissed her hungrily: "No withdrawal Ten Ten, go to the end. Meow! Meow." ... Hinata let moans softly with lust.**

** **

**Itachi whistled and said, "Damn you two. Now I'm hungry!"**

 

**CHOUJI AND SHIKAMARU**

 

**Chouji pulled a red ribbon from the box and made a large flower like a rose. Then he wrapped around the body of a red ribbon and put a flower in the shape of a rose on his chest.**

**Below the flower is written on a piece of paper: "Dear Shikamaru, my best friend! You open this gift on your birthday party."**

**Since it is not known what he would give him for his birthday he decided to give herself to him.**

**"Shikamaru would probably just stare at it, but it is also the meaning of the gift. Surprise ! Right? Besides, I think that not a single ninja would not expect such a surprise. Not only Naruto, unpredictable ninja, because us have more. "..... he could not wait to see his face.**

**Offer themselves to his best friend was a bit strange, especially because he was his best friend, but never mind. Chouji hoped to Shikamaru accepted his gift with the respect he had feelings for him, but he did not know of his feelings towards him.**

**He looked at himself in the mirror and quickly descended the stairs. When he opened the door came out of his mother.**

**"Chouji, for God's sake, where you going with that tie and red ribbon." ..... his mom yelled after him, surprised and confused at the same time.**

**"I'm going to Shikamaru mom. I'll be back soon. ".... he closed the door with a soft click, and he came out on the porch.**

**Children were playing in the street. But he waved and walked down the street Konoha to the house where stood Shikamaru. There was nothing in his mind but images Shikamaru who receives a gift and unrolling it. He was at the door of his friend in a few short minutes, and knocked the door, hoping to Shikamaru to open the door.**

**He did not want his parents to open the door because he did not want to think that something strange was happening. Indeed, Chouji did not think it was strange at all what he wrapped a ribbon and what will he ..... Shikamaru unwrap.**

**Really, it was normal that the fifteen-year-old boy do these things only in order to gain someone's favor.**

**After what seemed like forever ..... it was only three minutes, really ..... the door opened, and Chouji was relieved seeing Shikamaru on the other side. His best friend looked at him up and down carefully; his eyebrows lifted and his gaze stopped on a piece of paper under the flower on the chest.**

**He reached for the paper and read the words aloud:"Do not open before the birthday party?"**

**Shikamaru carefully watched his best friend, following the path ribbon with his eyes.**

**"What about this, Chouji?" He fought with words and a surge of redness in the cheeks: "Can I first enter into the house, I'll tell you." ...... Shikamaru looked at him one last time before he moved aside to let him in .**

**"Whose are you supposed to be a birthday gift?" ..... Shikamaru make grin, closing the door as soon as he crossed the threshold.**

**Then let him go to his room, closing the door.**

**"This might sound weird, but I'm supposed to be your Birthday gift." .... Chouji smiled nervously its best the friends, who stood frozen as he heard the words uttered by his best friend.**

**Chouji is nervously shifted from foot to foot.**

**"My Birthday gift?" ..... asked Shikamaru startled.**

**He was still staring at the other boy, and he repeated the words in his head, unable to comprehend them well.**

**"My Birthday gift?" ..... he asked again, walking toward his bed and sat down.**

**It did not take a genius to know what is the true meaning below of these words but Shikamaru was not sure that he had prepared to hear.**

**"I ... I ... I did not know what to give you." ........ explained is Chouji, nervously pulling a flower on the chest, and that was the place where gift is released: "I thought this is the perfect time to tell you that I like you. you know? "**

**Shikamaru blinked rapidly as he felt a rush of heat which caused a burning sensation on his skin. He thought I was not ready to hear his confession, but it felt so warm and happy. He stood up and took the hand flower and one end pulled while he had the smile on his face.**

**"Do I really have to wait that long to tonight's party?" ... Shikamaru asked, leaning forward conspiratorially while his breath warmed another boy on the cheek.**

**"Not if you do not want." .... Chouji managed to say through tight and sore throat while it seemed like the Shikamaru was getting closer and closer every time he blinked.**

**Shikamaru he took one hand and finger playing with his wrist. When his body came closer he pressed his lips against his. He untangle tape with the fingertips and smiled with a mischievous look.**

**"Hapy birthday Shikamaru!" .... he only managed to say while Shikamaru just muttered: "mmmm thanks!"**

****

**"Damn why I did not get a gift for my birthday. Toby's not a man!".....Itachi had a smile: "Konoha is a very interesting place. Here you can learn all sorts of things."**


	36. Fifteen days before the Chuunin exam Konoha is in disarray 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIKAMARU AND ASUMA  
> NEJI AND TENTEN  
> ITACHI AND KURENAI  
> ANKO AND KAKASHI

**SHIKAMARU AND ASUMA**

 

**Shikamaru just laughed and he took the last sip of sake and lie back on the tatami, with his hands behind his head.**

**"When was the last time you had a woman, Asuma?" ..... he asked.**

**"A few days ago." ...... Asuma giggled.**

**Genin put his hand on his forehead and went back to the tatami. The whole family Nara had some mysterious attraction. Genin, Shikamaru Nara was no exception. Shikamaru grunted in response, and he closed his eyes. He was just too drunk enough that he had no desire to move all night.**

**Next to him was another bottle of brandy: "Hey, Shika-kun ..." ... Asuma said, somewhat not understandable voice: "Give me that bottle of brandy next to you." .... Asuma asked.**

**Bottle of brandy was on the wrong side away from Asuma and Shikamaru could not be bothered move, but he closed his eyes and continued to lie still:" To me is too much comfortable.**

**Take it yourself." .... he answered.**

**Asuma groaned at his answer, and held up to lean over with Shikamaru body to grab a bottle. How he too much leaned forward, his foot slips and he finds himself leaning on Shikamaru body.**

**Nara was not surprised "Well, if the reason why tonight you're not with woman?"....he said jokingly.**

**Asuma blushed. Shikamaru pulled his hands behind his head and ran his fingers through the soft downy reddish hair. The fact that he was lying on the body of Shikamaru, pressed against his body in his mind has created confusion. He watched hungrily into his eyes as if to them to find food and his body responded to set a trap.**

**He expected to see in his eyes the protest but Shikamaru looked at him with a gentle somewhat mischievous look: "You can not move, and if you try!"....... Shikamaru spoke with a voice full of confidence and trust, but keeping a lazy accent as always calmed Asuma .**

**He tried to move and roll up but found himself tied with shadows that surrounded him and held against him. He used the Shadow Imitation Technique.**

**He took a deep breath and exhaled: "Nara ..!".....and then he lost consciousness.  
**

**"Damn Asuma!" .... Nara hissed.**

**After a few days.**

**"How is that more interesting than playing a game with your cool teacher?”...... Asuma asked with a chuckle, finding his own joke rather funny.**

**Shikamaru gave him a bored glance, raising an eyebrow as if he doubted him.**

**But in no way did he doubt him; Asuma was very cool in Shikamaru's eyes. Not only cool, but handsome. Asuma's tanned skin glowed slightly as tiny fresh drops of sweat formed on it, the heat seeming to affect his teacher a bit. His unlit cigarette hung between his lips and his big shadow cast over Shikamaru easily, as Asuma would be considered rather tall. At least a lot taller than his student. Shikamaru could watch the clouds for hours, but more than the clouds, he enjoyed watching Asuma.**

**This, he would never do for too long, because a long stare at his teacher could awaken suspicion. Which was way too troublesome to deal with. So that was why Shikamaru was content with admiring his crush in secret, taking is slowly. He had no desire to blurt a confession out at him, not at all. Spending his free time with Asuma like this, was.. well.. it was something he hoped he could do years ahead. This, in fact, was his favorite thing to do, and he intended to never let Asuma know how much he enjoyed having his company.**

**Realizing too much time had passed, as Asuma bit a bit down on his cigarette impatiently, Shikamaru finally gave a reply. “Lie down, try.”**

**Asuma seemed to decide to give it a try, and lay down beside Shikamaru, gazing up at the sky. For a moment, Shikamaru couldn't help but glance at Asuma, who lay only a few inches apart from Shikamaru. He could feel Asuma's scent impregnate his nose, that scent he held so dearly in his heart. The acrid scent of cigarettes, fresh sweat from the sun, and something else, he couldn't define. It didn't take long before Asuma's eyes shut, and his breathing grew slower. Had Shikamaru not been such a calm person in general, his heart would probably pound loudly against his chest now. But he knew how to stay calm, how to not ruin this moment. And his eyes wandered back to the sky. It felt different now. Not so lonely.**

**No, that wasn't the right word. It never felt lonely, when he was cloud-gazing. It just felt quiet, peaceful and serene. It still felt serene now. Only, different.**

**Shikamaru knew, oh, he knew it well.**

**Asuma was this close to him, with his eyes shut and lips parted slightly. Asuma was the serene one now, rather than the sky. Shikamaru wanted to watch him, and would find himself becoming peaceful, watching his sleeping teacher. But at the same time, he felt like nothing he'd felt before. With any other person, he wouldn't feel peaceful, he would eventually feel the urge to sneak off, lay under a tree and go back to his sky. But with Asuma, it was different. There was never the need to speak or do anything. He would feel like he had company, but a company he wouldn't find bothersome.**

**The only bothersome fact, the only thing that was different right now, was that Shikamaru wanted to do something. Shikamaru wanted to kiss Asuma. He wanted to taste him, see if he tasted like he smelled.**

**And it was bothersome, how he now felt uneasy. How he now felt like it would be wrong to do it, but a drag later on if he didn't. Maybe he wouldn't be able to sleep, if he didn't. Or maybe he wouldn't be able to sleep if he did.**

**Shikamaru shook his head, sitting up. It wasn't like him to think so much. Didn't he just think before, that this was fine? That he didn't feel the urge to blurt out a confession?**

**"So why was it different now?".......he was thinking.**

**The clouds now hid the sun away, and the sky grew a bit darker, the air just a little bit colder. Scratching his neck, Shikamaru sighed. Watching the clouds now felt useless, as his heart wouldn't calm down. His thoughts wouldn't shut up and the acrid cigarette scent wouldn't fade away.**

**"Why make it such a big deal? It's just lips. It's not a big deal. It's just bothersome, and you don't do bothersome things, do you? But this will continue being bothersome, if you don't get it over-with.All right.".........Shikamaru now shifted a bit, so he sat on his knees beside his sleeping teacher.**

**Grabbing the hanging cigarette, so Asuma's lips were naked, Shikamaru put his hands beside each side of Asuma's head, and leaned down.**

**"Quick and easy, then back to cloud-gazing, eh? Quick and easy.".......and obeying his thoughts, Shikamaru closed the space between them.**

**Just very very softly, he gave his first kiss and pulled back. Asuma was still sleeping.**

**"Thank god, he really didn't want the trouble, if he'd awoken by that."......slowly, Shikamaru lay down again.**

**Asuma's lips were rough and dry. They didn't taste of much, if anything at all.**

**"Asuma Damn! ".......but just as he nearly considered doing it again, a grunt escaped his teacher's lips.**

**Quickly, Shikamaru shut his eyes, in a clumsy attempt to seem asleep.**

**Asuma opened his eyes. Had he fallen asleep?**

**He glanced to the side, his pupil seemed to sleep peacefully. Asuma sat up, and glanced up at the slightly darkened sky. It was still beautiful, and still ever-so quiet. Upon licking his lips, he realized his cigarette was gone. Frantically, he looked around and discovered it in Shikamaru's open palm.**

**Asuma raised his eyebrows. "What was his cigarette doing there?".....pondering a while, his lips curled into a smirk, and he patted Shikamaru's head.**

**“Don't start smoking at such a young age, aight?”.......saying that, he took the unlit cigarette from Shikamaru, and looked once more up at the sky, wondering how it could seem so interesting to the boy.**

**"Direct kiss! Nice Nara!" ..... Itachi smiled: "Konoha always surprises me!"**

**NEJI AND TENTEN**

 

****

**Ten ten woke up very early and it felt a bit strange but ignored. She got dressed and prepared themselves breakfast. A strange feeling she had when she woke up he was gone. She stood up from the table and go outside for some fresh air. Suddenly through her head past a sharp pain.**

**Moaned in pain and wanted to go back but the pain was gone. She did not want to be alone and still she decided to go to the training ground to be with his team.**

**Soon she turned into the woods and began to jump from branch to branch to hasten the time when it was again looking sharply sharp pain in her head.**

**The pain was now unbearable and now she lost her balance and kick off fall. In the fall she became unconscious.**

**"Tenten, wait, wait a minute!" .......shouted Neji but she did not hear.**

**Neji caught her at the last minute and we begin to shout at her, but received no response. She lay in his arms, pale as death. Her breathing slowed and him panic when he saw her pale face .**

**"Tenten!" ..... Neji called her and clapped her face to come to ourselves but she did not respond:"For God's sake Tenten please come to me." ..... Neji felt a sharp pain in the heart area.**

**He as fast as he ran with her to the hospital. Neji Hyuga is the first time felt a mixed sense that he did not know to explain.**

**He held her tightly against his body and said, "Please Tenten Hang in there!" .... soon they were in the hospital.**

**Immediately they took her in for questioning to determine the cause of fainting. As he waited outside her room immersed in thought.**

**She was known as "Deadly white rose" and as such it is trying to become the master of the masters in the use of different types of weapons. It is not only wanted to use traditional weapons, but she wanted everything to her turn came to hand in weapons. One time he practiced with the explosive things that everyone in Konoha thought that she had become a passionate pyromaniac.**

**How is it their knowledge, expertise and repertoire in handling weapons increased over time the juggling with weapons was becoming more creative. Neji had very vivid memories of the time when Tenten decided to use, of all things, dishes and food products Reflecting on her the funny moments, Tenten has become very skilled in weapons and she has become a celebrity in Konoha.**

**Her talent has no bloodline limit, there is no secret to be obscure, or abilities because it was "just a" skill in handling the weapon that every ninja had to practice.**

**She was not like other kunochi. While the other took care of the flowers, wore ribbons in their hair or have loved to have perfume on yourself, Tenten was different.**

**Its flowers are shurikens, her ribbons are kunais and her perfume is a perfume with the scent of polished steel. "She was simply the best.".......Neji felt the butterflies in his stomach and he knew that he loved her.**

**The doctor came out of her room and said she was with her all right except that it has a strong migraine caused by food.**

**Neji sighed and went into the room, "Did you just wake up?Tenten how do you feel?"**

**"I'm fine. I guess I need to avoid chocolate." ... Tenten says, almost shyly.**

**Neji sat on the hospital bed next to her, and there was a moment of silence.**

**"Do you know how worried I was? ....he said in a low voice, and took her hand.**

**"I'm sorry. I won't make you worry again."......she mumbles quietly.**

**"Tenten, I think you're a great girl, and that no other is not like you. You make me laugh with you I never get bored. Please be my girlfriend?"....intertwined his fingers with hers and squeezed them.**

**"Good, I don't think I could handle much more of this."......Tenten had a smile and said:"Neji I think you're the best pills for my headaches!"**

**His cheeks were bright pink. He took her face in his hands and stared at her with his beautiful bright eyes.**

**He leaned in slowly and kissed her gently, "I think now I'm falling!"**

**"Do not worry, because I'll get you!" ..... Tenten kissed him back she took her hands around his neck and kissed him passionately.**

**"Twice a day I have to take a pill for a headache!" .... she said without thinking about the ninja must be prepared for anything "**

 

******He made a little pause, then asked, "Can I measure your temperature?"** ** **

********Find out what lies beneath the question.** ** ** **

******"Of course!" .... she said as her eyes glistened.** ** **

****"This is your answer to my question." .... he asked with a mischievous look.** **

**"Are you sure?"..... he asked again.**

**"Yes!" .... she said.**

**"Damn Tenten!" ..... he softly moaned: "I do not answer for the consequences! From now on I am your thermometer!".....and added:"Twice a day, the hell yes!"**

**"Twice a day!" ..... Itachi moaned: "It's more than good. Twice a day! Damn!"**

 

**KURENAI  AND ITACHI**

 

 

**"I think of you my only love. Long my sleepless night of sadness and loneliness If it's okay that I love you give me just one more night to spend with you and together we go to heaven I want your body next to mine tonight, because I would have given anything for you for your love.**

**Tonight I want you next to me, Itachi."......Kurenai Yūhi thought about the time when she was still in love with him.**

**"Kurenai Yūhi!"......she heard a voice. She turned toward the voice and before her stood Itachi.**

**"Ah!" .... she thought: "Beautiful sharingan eyes.**

**The eyes with a sad look.:"Itachi what are you doing here?"......suddenly she wakes and cried.**

**He jumped up to her and put his hand to her mouth.**

**"Ssshhhh!" .... he silenced her: "I will not hurt you. I had to come see you. I hear you now with Asuma." .... he spoke quietly while she was leaning on his body.**

**He freed her mouth when she calmed down in his arms and she said:"Yeah, Itachi I love this man now! I'm sorry Itachi!" ..... her voice was a bit sad and wistful.**

**"Kurenai no need to be sorry, because the two of us is not meant to be together.".....he looked with lust in her very unique eyes that are red in colour, with an additional ring in them." Yuhi, I think there is no such eyes as you .... exotic and full of mystique, mysterious and beautiful, the most beautiful eyes in the world that I saw! I love your mysterious eyes ! ".....gently finger crossed the cheek and hand clutched her neck and her head pulled to him.**

**"Kurenai I want you, as a man!"....his voice was low, but full of tenderness and desire, full of lust and passion, "Please be my only this night!"**

**"Itachi!" ..... moaned softly: "Come, come with me!" ..... she could not resist him and she did not want to.**

**She knew that Asuma has other women beside him and that for now she is not only for him. She held him firmly by the hand and led him into the room and pushed him onto the bed.**

**"Itachi let me fulfill my passion tonight, let me love you." .... she began to undress her clothes off, but he stopped her with a smile:"Allow me tonight that I take off the dress with you. I want to enjoy tonight in contact with your body. I want to remember it forever. "......whispered softly in her ear.**

**He leaned his face in her hair and breath smell the roses, "Kurenai" .... whispered quietly intoxicated by the smell of her hair.**

**Her hair away from his neck and kissed her gently. Wet tongue wandering around her neck while his other hand was in front and his fingers slid on her stomach and barely light touch her breasts.**

**She cried the throat and she twisted her body, "Itachi!".**

**T** **hen he took a small clamp to the patent in the teeth and slowly opened. The hand that was before she slid down and stopped at the beginning of her groin. The warmth of his hand pulled out the hard grunt out of it.**

**He let his chakra and her body shuddered from soothing pulses that have passed her whole body. The dress slip off her body on the floor and he is now with his fingers wandered around her legs from the groin to toe and back again. Then his fingers patted her crotch and turned to face him.**

**He dropped her panties and kisses her whole body covered. The humid and warm tongue wandered around her navel and came down to her vulva while his other hand wandered over her buttocks. She sighs and uncontrolled release of her legs began to shake. He lifted her into his arms and kissed her lips and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She took it happily and laced his tongue with his.**

**At the same time investigating voids in their mouth. He threw her on the bed and undressing overstepped his clothes off. In the moonlight, his white skin was pretty unreal. The muscles are in their prime, and seized her breath. Black hair fell to the middle of his back, and the most challenging were his Sharingan eyes.**

**She thought she was alone with the devil tonight that was in her room, in bed, over her. He was naked as she was. Two bodies of equal beauty and body both equally challenging.**

**Itachi thought: "I have to stay consistent. I'm sorry but this part I leave to the imagination of those who read it."**

**"You are leaving but not yet near the end of the night." ...... from the vicinity heard the song of the nightingale.**

**"The Nightingale, on the cherry tree!" ..... Itachi smiled: "Yuhi, I love you so much! The night is over quickly. The day will come soon my love. I have to go that so we could live, because if I stay here with to you I'll die.**

**"This light is not daylight, I know it. It was a meteor sent from the sun to be a torchbearer to light your way into infinity. So, you stay a little longer."......**

**"I will allow myself to get caught. Allow going to kill me. I will be happy if this is what you want. I will say the night that day does not come. Instead, it is pale in the sky is a reflection of the moon. I would rather stay here than I would like to go.**

**Come, death, and welcome! That's what she wants. How are you my love? Let's talk. Still not a day arrived."........Itachi gently took her in his arms:"I'd give anything for just one night with you,I would risk my life for you.**

**Your body next to mine because I can no longer be without it. Give me a chance to see that you are made for me. I'd give everything I have for another night, I would give anything for your love. Tonight I give myself, to forever and ever."**

**"Daylight. That day is coming. Go. disappear. Lark sings sharp and discordant, because her tweet announcing the transition between night and day.**

**Itachi, please go! Stay alive! I don't want to lose you, Ill protect you." .... Kurenai spoke tearful voice.**

**"What becomes brighter, darker is our misery."...Itachi was sad.**

**"Day has arrived. Be careful. Watch out. The window lets day in, and now my life goes out the window."......Kurenai looked at him one last time.**

**"Farewell, farewell! One more kiss, and I’ll go."......they kiss passionately and Itachi disappears in front of her.**

 

**"Kurenai, I did not know .... I'm sorry!" ..... Itachi was shocked, because this is what he had not expected.**

                                                                                  

**ANKO AND KAKASHI**

 

** **

**Anko sat on the bench and thought about Kakashi.**

**"Hello!" ..... It was all she could say when they met.**

**Otherwise, and there were not many opportunities to meet with him, because they had different duties, but he was often absent. Before she had more time and more often they see each other but always in the company of others.   She has never been able to gather the courage to say to him what was on her mind.**

**"Damn, Kakashi!" ...... she muttered to herself.**

**She sighed: "Why can not I to him say anything? Why do I have so many problems for the words" Kakashi I like you! "" ...... she had never before had a problem with that. "I do not think I'm a coward. For God's sake, say only three words Kakashi ...I.... like you! It can not be! I'm crazy, because I know what I want, and I can tell you. Damn!".....she put her hands behind her neck to look up at the sky.**

**"Maybe you should go directly to him and tell him everything ... No, it's just not the right way. Come on, girl, thinking a little more. It is not difficult to come up with the right idea, is not it?" .... after a while she stretched out on the bench and closed her eyes.**

**"If you come closer, then I will break every bone in your body, I swear!" ....cried and up to the bench when someone sat down next to her and moves her legs.**

**"Kakashi what are you doing here?" .... she was confused.**

**"You stirred my peace when you sit there, because I was up there on the branch." ..... he was not looking at her but in his stupid book Icha Icha:""You can tell me what's bothering you, is not it?"**

**"Dear kami and you're playing games with me!" .... she took a deep breath and sat down next to him.**

**"Why so absent, Anko?"......asked Kakashi with his soft voice and looked at her with a smile through the book.**

**She sighed again, "God, Kakashi! Damn! Do not scare me like that." .... she yelled at him, focusing with her hazel eyes on his face behind the book.**

**"I understand. But Anko, you did not answer my question. Why are you gone? ...... he asked again, looking at the far right in the eye, lowering the book on his knees.**

**"Uhm, well, I ... I do not know." ..... she tried to lie but her cheeks turned into a pink flower: "I was just thinking about what I'll do tomorrow."**

**"You're lying to me, Anko, and you know it." .....he had a serious look and a deep voice.**

**"Wait, what?" .... she looked puzzled: "How did he know that she was not telling the truth?" "Tell me what is the real reason for your absence?" ..... Kakashi is abrupt with her, and now he was just inches away from her nose.**

**She sighed: "Okay, I'm thinking about an idea, are you happy now?" .... she said, blushing even more.**

**"Nop. I'm not happy, because you did not tell me what kind of ideas." ..... he had a grin on his face now.**

**"You did not ask you that." .... she snorted through the nose.**

**"Then I ask now. What kind of idea you have in mind Anko?" .... his voice took on softness.**

**"Why is he so persistent? I mean, what does he care what I think?" .... she thought to herself, but she said, "I will not say, happy!"**

**"Please Anko, tell your secret to good old friend." ... he had a smile that was covered with a mask.**

**"Damn Kakashi, you're not leaving until you know what I mean, do not you?" ..... she was not aware of that now rested on his body.**

**"Nop" .... he just answers.**

**"All right then. I was thinking about how to tell you that I like you." .... explain it in one breath and looked down. "I now have to go. See you later!" ... she wanted to go away but he held her tightly in an embrace.**

**"What? How? When?" ..... Anko was confused when she could not get away from him: "You said you'd let me go if I tell you what I think," ..... slowly her to panic but he took her hand and put her arms behind her back, leaning on her upper body and said, "I do not think so! I do not want to let my little wranglers." ... he whispered close to her lips.**

**"You do not like you, Anko." .... her eyes were filled with tears, and said quietly: "Oh ... well, I can not do anything about it so let me go?" ...... he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently and murmured: "I said I do not like you, but I love you!"**

**Her eyes widened and she whispered: "You .... you!" ..... while her heart beating like a drum.**

**"I love you, Anko. Believe it or not!" .... and continue to love passionately with a slight groan through her throat.**

**"But I do not get it. Since you ...." ......when momentarily split mouth gasping for breath she began, but he put his index finger to her lips and said, "Do not ask, okay? It does not matter when, it is important that I love you, Is it?"**

**"Yes, I think it is most important!" ... and continue to love on the bench.**

**"I love you, too, Kakashi." .... Anko whispered and looked at him and gasped because it is only now she noticed that he took off his mask: "Damn Kakashi, you're a very nice man." .... embraced him strong and she replied with a passionate kiss, which she had to give.**

 

                                                                                                                                                                                

**"Damn, again Kakashi. Anko I do not think that's gonna work in this story!" ..... Itachi laughed.**


	37. GOLDEN EYES

**KITSUNE.........NINE TAILS........**

**( Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox, intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom,possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. Kitsune are often presented as tricksters with motives that vary from mischief to malevolence. Tactic is for the kitsune to confuse its target with illusions or visions, include seduction, theft of food, humiliation of the prideful, or vengeance for a perceived slight. "Kitsune" kitsune sometimes follow a set of rules or law that may include never harming anyone unless in defense of a third party, never killing, keeping their word at any cost, and other things along those lines.**

**Energy Manipulation, Elemental Manipulation,Illusion Manipulation, Electricity Manipulation, Fire Manipulation, Light Manipulation,Insanity Inducement........**

**In Japan, this probably traces back to legends of kitsune (foxes) and their naturally golden eyes. It was said that a human possessed by a fox would gain gold eyes, and that a child born to a fox and a human would possess them as well. Because kitsune were also shapeshifters, this often shows up when characters change their forms. Mythical creatures with Deadly Gaze may have golden eyes as well. Gold eyes are amber eyes. It's not called gold, but instead amber. )**

 

**GOLDEN EYES......it's said that eyes are the window to the soul......**

 

**Itachi after he made a mess in Konoha leave the village completely satisfied :" A small revenge will not harm anyone, maybe even some open up new horizons!"**

**He did not expect that it will soon be prevented from one person to change his whole life. He knew he would die in a few years, because he was suffering from an incurable disease. He hoped that in the meantime to complete his life's mission, Sasuke. When he wanted to leave Konoha stumbles upon a barricade that he did not expect.**

**"Itachi!" ..... stop him a voice that he had never heard in his life, and he had a good memory.**

**He turned and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Min.... sensei!" .... It was his first opinion, but then he looked better.**

**The blond young man, the same age as Sasuke with sky-blue eyes was leaning against the tree and his arms were folded across his chest. The young man was dressed in black and wearing on his back katana.**

**"Yes, I am, but who are you '' ..... he asked, ready to fight.**

**"It does not matter who I am. I know who you are." ..... he gives him the answer: "But if you want to know who I am, I'll tell you."**

**"I would really like to know your name." .... Itachi watched with interest in young man.**

**"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I am the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I am also holder of nine tails." ..... said to him with a chuckle.**

**Itachi was speechless and he did not know how to react. As a member of Akatsuki nine tails was that close.**

**"Naruto, you live in Konoha right!" ..... he wanted to make sure of that claim, because he never had the intention to do something against Konoha.**

**" In Konoha I was born, and I will always be for the village even though I was rejected from him. I remain faithful to wish he had my father." .... reply Naruto peaceful view.**

**"Okay, but why did you stop me?" ..... Itachi asked him with interest.**

**"I think I owe you ......." .... Naruto replied, walking towards him light steps: "I do not want to fight you, Itachi!" ..... blue eyes were serious and fascinating.**

**Beside him appears Sasuke. "Naruto, what happend?"**

**He whispered softly when he saw the person in front of him, "Itachi"**

**"Sasuke, stay where you are, please!" .... Naruto said sharply.**

**"Naruto, what are you going to do?" ..... said to him Sasuke quickly.**

**"Do not worry!" ..... said quietly somewhat melancholy voice, then turned to Itachi: "I really do not want to fight you." ..... he looked him straight in the eye, which had activated the Sharingan.**

**"I will not interfere, because I completely trust you!" ..... Sasuke leaned against the tree, and he activates the Sharingan too.**

**Itachi did not believe what he heard, and a puzzled look Sasuke.**

**"Do not worry, I like you have ...."......he paused here." I will not let him hurt you in any way. He is very nice and it is a very valuable person. If he dies, I die with him." ..... Sasuke smiled: "Itachi!" .... he whispered very softly, "I'm glad to see you alive!"**

**Itachi is completely thrown out of the track "What's going on here?" .... he could not get himself: "Why Sasuke says that he was glad that I'm alive???"**

**"Itachi, I can not answer that." ..... Sasuke gently looked his brother: "I do not hate you Itachi, I love you, no matter what you're doing or you're gonna do." .... he said to him the same words he said to him before and** **Itachi was completely thrown off balance.**

**"Itachi, can I come closer?" .... Naruto walked toward him.**

**Itachi looked at them and trying to figure out what they intend, but his mind could not imagine what was going on.**

**"All right, but at the slightest movement of your ......".... he was surprised his following the procedures.**

**"What?" .... he could not believe when Naruto lowered his katana before him.**

**"Itachi, I said I do not want to fight with you! It's time to give back my debt." .... he looked very serious, and his eyes had a glow that does not belong to their world.**

**"Who is Naruto?" ..... wondered Itachi: "He is not a human!" ..... the energy emitted from his body is soothing almost hypnotic.**

**Not only Itachi, but  Sasuke felt too.**

**"Naruto ..." ..... Sasuke was surprised.**

**"I'm sorry, Sasuke. Long story! I know you're fond of Itachi but this ... " ...... Sasuke fell to the floor.**

**Itachi flinched, fear could be read in his eyes. He tried to pull, but he kept him chained to a place only with his eyes.**

**"Itachi, you need have no fear, I will not hurt you ......I'm not your enemy although you take me to be your enemy or ......"......he paused here**

**Itachi became curious.** **He wanted to know what he intends with him.**

**"Naruto, what will you do?" ..... he asked curiously.**

**Naruto has made a seal for fūinjutsu, and he made a barrier, Crystal barrier around them, which surprised Itachi.**

**"It seems that is not good enough. It's a way to prevent that no one interferes with the side." ..... he wore a smile. "I hope I can make it! This is my first time that I will try to perform it."**

**"Naruto, wait a minute .... do it .... what ... the first time ..." ..... Itachi had a little strange expression as he looked at him, probably still under the impression of visits Konoha.**

**"Well Itachi please take off your clothes." ..... Naruto looked at him somewhat mischievously.**

**Itachi looked at Naruto with a very, very interesting view: "Well, he does not look bad actually looks very good ..... hm .... maybe .... first .... damn it, I think it's the best day in my life. "..... Itachi thought in his head and began to slowly take off, and he looked provocatively in Naruto.**

**Sasuke were left stunned, his mouth open and eyes wide open, speechless. His minds were not able to do anything that they understood what was happening.**

**"Naruto, for God ....." .... Sasuke could not believe it.**

**Next scene left him breathless.**

**Naruto  approached Itachi and helped him undress, occasionally saying, "Not bad!" .... with his palm he explored his body ". Well, okay, that's it" .... he mumbled to himself and quietly smiled. "I think we have everything ready, just do not know whether you're going to survive ..... given my first time .... very painful experience .... um, I think I'm ready."**

**Itachi was standing half naked in front of him, red-faced: "Naruto!"**

**Then he took Akatsuki cloak and spread it on the ground and said: "Now you can lie down!" ..... he grabbed him by the arm and gently pushed him to the floor.**

**Itachi, a man proudly now suddenly he was a child and listened to him without objection: "What is happening to me? For God's sake, how is it that I can not resist him." .... slowly crept into his nervousness, and his body jerked.**

**Naruto took off his sweater ,he came down, stepped over him and got him to his feet.** **Sasuke groaned through his throat and watched. Naruto calm down and sunk in meditation by making a hands signs seal. Soon, his body wrapped reddish golden cloak, and when he opened his eyes Itachi was mesmerized by his eyes that were beyond imagination.**

**His eyes were bright as gold that shine in the sun. The body bent down to him, with one hand he pass through his chest, and in some places is to keep his fingers and let chakra in these places. This procedure he is repeated in many places. The procedure lasted an eternity.**

**When he was finished with the front face: "Itachi turn my back!" .... he tells him tired voice.**

**The procedure was the same.**

**After this, the Naruto forms another hand seal which causes their entire body to start glowing.Then put one hand on his heart and the other in the stomach, sending a large amount of golden chakra that has entered the body of Itachi and Naruto took his chakra into himself.**

**Itachi felt the electricity and tingling throughout the body, which was pleasant and relaxing. Then the tingling became intensified more and more, until it was not pleasant, but it became painful.**

**His body fell into shock twitching beneath Naruto. That the broadcasting of electricity has become very strong his screaming was getting louder. Sasuke watched without breathing.** **When Naruto put his hands on the heart and stomach screams were so strong that shook barrier.**

**Naruto then lay his body, he took his head and he had whispered something:"You're going to live! It's my gift intended Sasuke who loves you."**

**Itachi did not understand anything and he asked himself: "How does he know about my disease? Who is Naruto?"**

**With the change of chakras Kurama let flashes of Naruto memory.**

**Itachi** **had tears in his eyes and hugged him strongly: " Naruto, why did you ... ...  the price ... my life ... Sasuke is happy to have another brother" .... he whispered and to the surprise of others he kissed him softly on the cheek and Itachi smiled.**

**"Itachi,  ....." ..... he stop there and he helped him up and he helped him to dress: "Itachi, take this, it belongs to you!" .... get away from small purses jar with an eye of Shisui.**

**"Naruto!" .... he shouted: "How to ...."**

**He said: "I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to say that! "**

**He wore a sweater and overturned barriers: "Go, you will live" .... Itachi him again firmly embraced, and then he appears next to Sasuke: "Take care of him and keep him safe. We will see you soon!"**

**The two of them looked surprised when they heard a thud on the ground. They turned and saw Naruto lying on the floor. What they could not hear of barriers now are heard.**

**From his body goes chakra in the explosion, and they could hear the cry of a wounded animal that fought for life. Naruto's body was in a strong pain, and he bent lay on the floor.**

**Shouts mixed with thunderous groan for them it was not tolerable.**

**They wanted to go to him, but they heard a voice that comes from somewhere in the depths of the earth: "Stay Away"**

**They close their eyes, they close the ears that do not hear screams echoing expanse around them.**

**Itachi had tears: "Damn Naruto! " ..... he kissed his brother on the cheek and he fell to the floor.**

**Sasuke remained frozen: "This is not happening!" .... his mind for an instant becomes completely dark.**

**He shook his head: "I have no time to panic."**

**He looked for the place where was supposed to be Naruto, but he could not see anyone. At the place where was supposed to be Naruto they found a young fox with nine tails.**

                                                                              


	38. NARUTO...........KITSUNE

**Sasuke approached the place where it should have been Naruto but instead lay the body of a baby fox with nine tails. The body of a fox was barely alive. Her entire body shook and uncontrolled release of the weak cries.**

**He looked at the body of a dying baby fox not realizing that it's Naruto. His mind could not fathom the image that he saw before his eyes. It has exceeded all limits of normal.**

**Sasuke ducked and gently running his fingers through the fur that was matted with some liquid. Fox has barely turned her head toward him and watched in his eyes.**

**He was in shock.**

**Eyes of foxes were blue, the same color that had Naruto, Sasuke softly moaned and groaned: "Naruto!".**

**"At what price ..... Damn Naruto, is not enough, how long will you give your heart and soul?". ..... he took her in his arms and pressed her body to him at least to some extent gave warmth.**

**Sasuke thought:** **" Six years is a very long time. I can no longer conceive of who he is and what he is able to do. In the two years he has been on missions all the time, not only for the organization Root but also for other villages of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.**

 **Who could he encountered along the way, which is the secret he could reveal that only he can know ...... me to live one million years I can not return to him all that he gave to me and Konoha. "..... his voice goes into a sob." What is tragically he never asked for nothing in return except for recognitions and my friendship.** **I think it's better to hurry to Tsunade and Jiraiya. Maybe they know to solve the puzzle.".......he thought, but his eyes fall on Itachi:"For God's sake, Naruto ...".....he took him over his shoulder and he first carried him into the apartment, and then the Hokage tower.**

**They went to Konoha, which was announced the second stage alarm, because half of the active ninja was out of active service because of Itachi and his cabal.**

**Tsunade was on her feet like Jiraiya.** **Kakashi was angry and dark.**

**"Can you help me with Naruto!"......Sasuke yelled and he flew through the window on which they jumped.**

**"Naruto! Where is Naruto? What happened to him?" ... they're looking at him with surprise.**

**"What you got in your hand? Some animal that exhales! ... Jiraiya asked.**

**"Jiraiya this is not the animal that exhales, this is Naruto for God's sake!" ..... Sasuke was deadly serious, and they knew that telling the truth.**

**"I do not understand, how can it be Naruto. He is a man, not an animal." .... Jiraiya was persistent.**

**"Jiraiya, bloody hell, what Naruto carries in itself?" .... Sasuke yelled in a loud voice: "He's dying, please Tsunade hime, help him!"**

**Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at each other and they quickly come to him.**

**"Give me a fox, quickly!" ..... he slowly lowered it into her hands, Fox opened her eyes on her touch.**

**Tsunade moaned softly when she saw so familiar blue eyes.**

**"Naruto!" ..... her voice was soft, and that the fox with tongue licked her finger.**

**"What happened?" ..... Jiraiya is now understood that the matter is very serious.**

**Sasuke found himself in a dilemma, because he could only guess what it has done with the body of Itachi but he was not sure.**

**He looked at Naruto: "Now what am I supposed to do? Let you die or to tell them, to be or not to be is the question now. Hell, if I tell them all your efforts come to nothing. .... Choose. ... you or the future .... I can not choose ..... if I tell them, who knows what will happen .... past.... present... future .... everything will go hell ... endless varieties opens .... kami, please help me ".....Sasuke was in front of a nervous breakdown.**

**Kakashi was gloomy as a stormy sky:" Sasuke!".....he hardly murmured.**

**Jiraiya and Tsunade for the moment remain surprised by his reaction: "Kakashi ..."**

**"Naruto fought with Itachi!" ....**   **Sasuke said as he thought to himself: "I'm sorry, brother."**

**Jiraiya and Tsunade saw the two of them in a strange state. Both are discussed for their alter ego.**

**Tsunade is all the time sent her chakra to the fox to return the warmth. She noticed that her nervous system is in disarray.**

**"Jiraiya, please take a little bit and let your chakra in her" ... she was working on her nervous system.**

**After an hour of treatment fox began to breathe normally and she came to himself but she could not stand on its feet.**

**"She will be all right but now we need to find out what happened, because this is not normal." .... Tsunade watched Sasuke:"** **You , fox .... Naruto is ok! Can you finally tell me what happened to him." ...... he slowly coming to himself.**

**In the hospital room, entered the third Hokage, and said that most of the Ninja in the village on your feet and to those recovering from Genjutsu.**

**"So this is all made Itachi." .... he scratched his chin. "But why? No one is seriously hurt." .... now he fell into thinking.**

**"Tsunade, my dear how about a game of poker?" ......Jiraiya asked suddenly with a mischievous smile.**

**"I agree on condition that you give me the gift Okayama sake!" ..... she said.**

**Jiraiya is speechless: "Hmm, something is strange here. The most expensive sake of the ninja world ... Damn Tsunade!"**

**Fox they all forgotten.**

**Sasuke while they talked he walked over to the fox took her in his arms: "Welcome back, Naruto!" ... he gave him a kiss on the nose moist: "Time to go home!" .... he is slowly sneaking out.**

**"Not so fast, young man!" ..... Jiraiya took his shirt and brought him back: "What happened?"**

**Third Hokage looked puzzled: "Naruto, Where's Naruto?"**

**"The old man, he is ahead of you! Sasuke holding him!" .... said Kakashi.**

**"The fox, foxy with nine tails. What the hell, you're all crazy." ..... suddenly he paused: "The fox with nine tails !?"**

**Sasuke that he said what happened. He did not say everything, just the two of them fought and that was a big explosion from chakra, but Naruto was eventually turned into a fox.**

**Because they could not even fathom how this could happen they let him go home, while they watched him closely.**

**Sasuke put a small fox under sweaters with a smile: "Let's go home!"**

**He slipped into the room and smiled at the patient. “Did you miss me, Itachi?” ......he asked.**

**Black eyes glared at the brother: “Hmmm, no....,”.... he said softly, “Why?”**

**He stride over to the bed and touched Itachi’s face.**

**“You did,” ......he whispered.**

**Itachi closed his eyes and nodded. “I am beginning to hate waking alone,”..... he mumbled, “Where is he?"**

**Sasuke drew a fox cub and put it next to him."He's here!"**

**Cub foxes dropped a gentle voice and jump on the chest of Itachi. With a small damp snout touches his nose and licked. Then she settle down and rolled up on his shoulder, lowering her head on the soft fur of the tails.**

**Itachi could not believe but blue eyes told him that it was not a dream.**

**Itachi looked at Sasuke cautiously. “ I do not wish to be a burden to you or Naruto.”**

**The younger man shook his head. “I doubt Naruto will find you a burden,” ........he said, “Naruto tends to throw his entire soul into things.”**

**“I noticed.”......he gently passed his finger over the soft fluff.**

**Sasuke smiled.**

**He took Itachi’s hand and held it gently. “I am ready to put this behind me,”..... he said, “I am tired of fighting and revenge, I want to be family.”**

**Itachi looked away. “I don’t think that I deserve it,” .....he said.**

**“Bull shit,”.... Sasuke said, bluntly, “You do deserve it, you did what you could to protect me, to make sure that I survived, well, I did and I am happy now.”**

**Itachi felt calm and he fell into a dream gently pulling the young fox near his face. Cub foxes leave quietly gentle groan and with its tails arm around the neck of Itachi.**

**"Thank you very much!" ..... Sasuke heard his whisper.**

**Sasuke quietly sneak out of apartment and went to his old house. Open the secret door in the floor and went down the stairs to the basement. On the speed is prepared a room for Itachi.**

**When everything was ready, write a message and leave it on a small table in the room, and then went by him, to be moved to a room.**

**Wearily lay down on the bed next to the cub and pulled him into a hug.**

**Then he gently kissed her wet nose and whispered, "Good night!"**

 

 


	39. KONOHA COMBAT TRAINING

**Sasuke with the Naruto left the hospital room and he headed for the exit. Kakashi was left with the Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Third Hokage. At the exit of the hospital had to wait to move out, because by chance the hospital was full.**

**"I wonder what is made Itachi in Konoha?" ..... Sasuke wondered: "Naruto I think it's time to leave this place!"**

**When he placed Itachi and when he returned to the apartment cub goes around grabbing tails. When he saw Sasuke jumped on him and began to bite him in his fingers.**

**Sasuke laughed:"B** **e quiet until I get you something to eat." .... went to the kitchen but he stopped halfway: "What foxes eat?"**

**"Foxes are mainly food for the rodents, rabbits, birds and other small animals, but can eat fruits and vegetables. "..... Sasuke was thinking out loud." This means that I have to go into the woods and hunt animals ...... impossible .... um, fruits and vegetables .. ..about it is not difficult, because it has fruit in the house. ".... find an orange, an apple and eggplant.**

**He clip into pieces and put it in front of the fox but she just looks with sad eyes.**

**"Okay, let me try with the ramen." ..... he remembered and said, "I'm going out there for a minute and I'll be back right away!" .....fox sighed deeply.**

**"You'd better come home alive!** **Hey, Kurama why we are in the shape of a fox!" .... Naruto asked curiously.**

**"You're a brat, it's your fault." .... Kurama was a little angry: "Do you know how much I had to use the chakras of your body expel toxins that you picked up from Itachi. I would not be surprised if you get Sharingan. "..... Kurama lazily leaned back:" You and I will not talk for a while. I'm tired! "**

**"I think I'll get some sleep, because it is so peaceful and quiet." ..... he just yawned and closed his eyes and said, "Fox!"**

**In the hospital room the four of them discussed the Naruto and fox.**

**Jiraiya.** **"I still can not believe that the Naruto turned into a fox!"**

**Tsunade: "Believe or not the fact is he turned into a fox."**

**Third Hokage: "It is possible but I have not heard of such a transformation.".......he imagined.**

**"** **Naruto is a human being!".....Jiraiya will again.**

 **"Naruto has enough chakra but if some case his chakra reduce nine tails gives his chakra to keep him alive. The explosion chakra was large which could lead to the transformation that both stay alive.** **Just do not know the next time if this happens again whether they survive. "......Hiruzen said to a serious voice.**

**"You want to say that now Naruto barely survived?" .... asked Kakashi.**

**"Yes! He miraculously survived. I think he's very well protected." .... Hokage said.**

**"I think I'll go to rest. For today is a lot of excitement!" .... still grim face and rough voice, Kakashi said.**

**On the way stop to buy something to eat and the accidentally meet with Sasuke who bought ramen.**

**"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" ..... he asked.**

**"I'm trying to feed Naruto .... actually feed the fox!" .... Sasuke sighed deeply.**

**"Well, if I can do to help?" .... he asked.**

**"Yes!" ..... he said with relief.**

**In encounter them came Sakura. She when saw them suddenly turns red and she turned to flee.**

**"Hey, Sakura!" .....called her Sasuke and stood in front of her: "I could use your help to feed Naruto! And Kakashi ....."**

**At the mention of Kakashi she explodes and she slapped a hard slap on his face.**

**Sasuke held his face that he was blushing from strong slap: "What the hell!"**

**Kakashi wanted to interfere, but he gets much stronger shot of Sasuke:"** **Sakura damn! Why are you angry? What happened?"**

**"Kakashi, you're a big pervert, I almost lost my virginity. Blame it all on egiplant!"......she redness as poppy in the field, while she watched him furiously.**

**"Sakura I'm sorry but I do not know what you mean!" .... Kakashi was confused.**

**"Sakura .....!" .... Sasuke intervene to which she hissed: "** **You ...." .... turned to Sasuke, "You left me and ran away, and you say you love me!" .. ..she shouted loudly and she slapped them again.**

**The two of them were confused and surprised. "What the fuck! You're crazy Sakura! What are you talking about? Who ......? .... the virginity ...." .... Sasuke turned to Kakashi: "What is she talking about? .... "Chidori!" ... yelled Sasuke.**

**"Wow, Sasuke slowly. I have no idea what she was talking!" ...... Kakashi jumped back from him.**

**Anko Mitarashi was near and she was eating dango. When she heard what Sakura says she was not really thinking, she came behind Kakashi and use Dragon Fire techniques.**

**Kakashi is a last minute get away, and Sasuke made barriers and throw shuriken in her direction.**

**Kakashi did not know what hit him when Iruka appears behind him, and he struck him in the belly, "Damn Kakashi, how could you do this to me .... the romance, the kisses .... arghhh! "**

**Sasuke and Anko paused for a moment.**

**Sasuke finds out what's the matter. "Itachi! .... and he slowly pulled collecting food and disappears.**

**Anko now attacked Iruka and shouted, "Keep your hands off him. He's mine!" .......and send to all Kakashi weapon she had.**

**Meanwhile elsewhere in Konoha, there is a conflict between Ino, Shikamaru and Asuma.**

**"Hej, Nara!".....invite Asuma.**

**"Damn Asuma, stop smoking cigarettes!"......he shouted at him, red-faced.**

**"Why?" ..... Asuma was confused: "What ...."**

**Nara lost patience: "Too much trouble!" .... he came to Asuma, and caught him by the collar and pulled him to himself: "You .... aaah .... nothing!" .... pushed him from himself with stronger redness in the face.**

**"Huh..huh ... Nara, that you're not accidentally in love with me?" .... Asuma said with a mischievous smile on his face.**

**"Go to hell! Shikamaru loves only me!" .... Ino red-faced Shikamaru pulled his arm away from Asuma.**

**Nara and Asuma will with one voice, "Ino ....?"**

**"What's you done with my daughter?" .... Inoichi was about to use jutsu, mind reading.**

**Neji, Tenten, Kiba and Hinata are exercised. Each of them was in their own little world.**

**In the fight were slowly drawn and others, and that no one knew why they fight. Konoha was in conflict with each other.**

**Third Hokage said, "Itachi this was your intention?" ..... he took a deep breath: "It is time to retire!"**

**Sasuke walked into his apartment and sighed, "I'm safe!"**

**"What are we going to give her to eat?" ..... Kakashi was sitting on the bed by the foxes and smiling at the Sasuke.**

**"Kakashi!" ..... Sasuke jumped: "Do not scare me like that!"**

**In it they heard a knock at the door. Sasuke opened the door and saw Sakura.**

**"Sasuke, I'm sorry!" ..... when she saw Kakashi blushed and said.** **"Sorry sensei!"**

**Fox slipped out from under the blanket and watched them confused.**

**"Kurama what is happening in Konoha? It can not be attacked by Akatsuki!" ... Naruto asked.**

**"Brat, be quiet! Itachi made a mess in Konoha." .... until they could hear explosions and cries, and still Kurama said: "Naruto, I like Itachi!" ..... make grin Kurama.**

**Naruto remembered the image that is seen in the mind of Itachi, he blushed and covered his face with his tail, "Damn Itachi!"**

**"Why is a fox on the bed?" ....asked Sakura.**

**"It's not a fox. It is Naruto!" ... receive a response from Sasuke.**

**"Genjutsu! Not again!" .... and she become unconscious.**

**Kakashi is meanwhile preparing food and whistling: " I like this!"**

**Sasuke caught Sakura in his arms and put her down on the bed up to the foxes.**

**"I think it's time for a bath! Naruto you stink!" ..... take it and take it to the bathroom.**

**However cub him slip out of his hand, It ran out of bathroom and cub jumped on the shoulders of Kakashi.**

**"For God's sake!" ..... Kakashi was surprised and he accidentally pushed a pan of food on the floor.**

**Kakashi took the cub and just when he wanted him to rebuke, cub break away with his tail to attach to his neck and that he kissed him on the mouth via a mask.  
**

**Kakashi blushed and said quietly: "Next time you count that I will gonna charge you with interest rate!"**

**Cub hissed and covered her face with tails:""I can only dream about it!" .... Naruto thought.**

**"Damn, Naruto!" ..... Sasuke caught him tightly and carried him to the bathroom with a smile: "Satisfied?" ..... cub licked him.**

**After a while they heard the shouts, the noise and squeak from the bathroom. Fox ran out of the bathroom and wanted to jump on the bed but Kakashi is it an obstacle.**

**"Kakashi caught her!" yelled .... Sasuke.**

**Kakashi was about to catch her when he heard the explosion chakras and he grabbed Naruto who was naked.**

**"I prefer this!" .... thought to herself and blushed: "Well, not bad. Very good prey!" .... he said and he Naruto slip under the blanket: "You stay here! You're a very, very naughty little fox!" ..... Kakashi got down on the floor and said, "For God's sake, I can not anymore! I I'm very, very tired. "**

**Sasuke is a full wet and sat down up to Kakashi:"** **Naruto is not the only one who knows how to make a mess."**

**Sakura came to himself and looked around: "Damn Naruto, why are you naked?" .... she tries to hit but Sasuke interjected: "He is not guilty Sakura! Leave him alone, please!" .... ..he bent and fingers pass through his wet hair, "I'll get you some clothes!"**

**Naruto nodded and smiled at him:** **"Sasuke is all ok!"..... Sakura and Kakashi looked at them a little bit jealous.**

**Dinner was over and the four of them sit at the table while Konoha slowly calmed.**


	40. CLOSED-DOOR MEETING 1

**There are still fifteen days to FINAL EXAM.**

**Due to the loss of large amounts of chakra Tsunade has banned any kind of practice. Sasuke has also decided to take a break and enjoy his company, because never before had the time. He knew that every moment is precious.**

**Third Hokage called a meeting in secret. the meeting came Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Iruka, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Anko Mitarashi , Asuma Sarutobi, Gay, Kurenai as they were present and members Anbu team.**

**Everyone was surprised by the number of invited to the meeting. Hokage watched them row with a straight face.**

**"I will be retiring from the position of Hokage and will replace me Tsunade hime."......he introduced them to his intentions.**

**It was created a stir but he stopped with his hand and they quieted.**

**"I made a few mistakes that are now returning," .... he is for a moment deep in thought. "Naruto Uzumaki is the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. After the attack, nine tails on our village Minato is as you know saved the village. Minato and Kushina have sacrificed their lives, leaving me in the care of their child.**

**Uzumaki Kushina was a Konohagakure kunoichi who originated from Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki clan. She was the second jinchuriki of the Nine tails. After the birth Naruto Minato began making preparations to restore the Nine-Tails' weakened seal. It must be something happened, because we found Ambu team members dead, who were guarding the place of delivery.**

**Nine Tails was out of control but Minato decided that he made of his son jinchuriki. Because the Nine-Tails' chakra was too immense to seal into an infant, Minato used the Dead demon consuming seal to cut its chakra in half, sealing the Yin half in himself. Realising what they were planning, the Nine-Tails tried to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina used themselves as shields.**

**Seeing me nearby, Minato is me said his last wish that the villagers of Konoha think of Naruto as a hero, and not as the tank monsters that caused so much death and destruction. His soul was consumed Shinigami, who finished Minato life."....... present listened without comment.**

**Most of them did not know the truth.**

**"Thinking that I work for the benefit of Naruto, I hid the truth wishing to protect him from enemies on the outside, because Minato is for life gained many enemies but never hoped to be enemies in the village. On this point I did not do anything. On the other hand I did not prevent the massacre of the Uchiha clan, although I knew it would happen. Danzo has played a role to persuade Itachi to do, in return to protect his younger brother Sasuke."......participants were pale.**

**"But now we may have a bigger problem."......Hokage said gloomily.**

**"Naruto and Sasuke!" ..... said Anko.**

**Hokage's views: "Anko they do not want revenge on the contrary.....but there is a problem."**

**"I have some doubts but I do not know whether to believe me." ..... Kakashi stepped forward and looked at them seriously.**

**All looked at him in surprise except Hokage who tells him to continue.**

**" Letter that is Naruto left behind before they reported to Root.".....Kakashi looked Hokage who read the letter aloud.**

**" No chance of him he could write!".....concluded unanimously.**

**"He had already worked out a plan when he entered the Root. For what purpose I do not know, but I have a feeling it was something with Danzo who disappeared as well as the dissolution of the organization Root . The question that imposes here as a child of seven years can have such a plan? I guess that he joined the the organization Root by chance that I will explain later. "**

**"Theirs k** **nowledge of nine tails ...... maybe but it is under suspicion, t** **he technique and progress with the two of them ...... amazing, Sasuke is activated** **Sharingan ....... how.....** **strong connections between them ....... unthinkable, only if they do know for a long time.....".....establishing a commotion but he went further:"** **Danzo and Itachi ..... knowledge secret in Konoha that I do not know, but they know. I'm a witness, because I heard their conversation. How?"......he paused.**

**No one wanted to stop him but they listened attentively.**

**"** **He knows me, but we first saw in the hospital room ...... very, very suspicious, c** **hidori and rasengan learned in one day ......unlikely, k** **nowing Tsunade for which they could not hear or know, Gaara, genin from Suna is  jinchuriki as Naruto and their friendship.....connection between Naruto and nine tails.....as if they already know in advance what will happen, and try to stop it but what.......Orochimaru disappearance involving the two of them......encounter between Naruto and Itachi, where he called him his friends..." .....he paused again" **Fū**  is a kunoichi from Takigakure and the jinchuriki of the seven tails......Yagura....Fourth Mizukage Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails is friends with Naruto."**

**The only solution that comes to mind to me is that the two of them:"TIME TRAVELERS! They came from the future, but why ...... they keep secret and do not tell anyone anything .... why ... obviously they want to preclude something from happening .... but what ... ". .... he finishes.**

**"I agree with you!" .... said Hokage:" Their desire to advance is a insatiable. They have only one goal!"**

**"I think the stakes are very big and they do not have the possibility of returning, they are all put at risk." ..... Kakashi sighed: "But how to figure out which is a their goal and how to help them in this way?"**

**"Now that you say that to me is a a little clearer why he just contacted Nagato and why he gave him my book." .... Jiraiya thought: "While I was at Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage made a prediction about me: that I would travel the world and during that time meet the Child of the Prophecy, a student who would grow up to either save or destroy the world depending upon how I taught them. When he I returned to Konoha and began training a team of my own, I started to suspect that one student, Minato Namikaze, might be the Child of the Prophecy because of his natural genius. As such, I took Minato as my disciple and taught him many of my skills but Minato died.**

**When I decided to stay in Ame for a time shortly after I discovered that one of the orphans, Nagato, possessed the Rinnegan, once used by the Sage of the Six Paths to save the world. I decided that Nagato was the Child of the Prophecy, and as such agreed to teach the orphans ninjutsu so that I might guide Nagato towards the world's salvation. But what if he changed his mind and decided to destroy the world ........... maybe he started a war.....".....he was thinking out loud.**

**"Jiraiya if Nagato is not Child of the Prophecy, your current student Naruto might have that role.....last wish of Minata......Naruto is a the name of your hero from the book.....".....Tsunade joined his thinking.**

**"They went back to prevent a war!".......Kakashi closed:" So he got in touch with Nagato to try to change his opinion."**

**Anko Mitarashi said: "I'm interested in how the two of them managed to get rid of Danzo and Orochimaru? Goddamn ...... it turns out that they are superior shinobi ....."**

**Nara Shikaku on to say: "The idea of Kakashi's probably right, if they come from the future probably could work out a plan how to resolve them, if they know what will happen."**

**Asuma Sarutobi join the conversation: "The situation is becoming clearer how they could achieve what they have achieved. If they come from the future must have been older than now. It is possible that they are glossy ninja, who knows what they went through and what all they know. Just what happened in the future that have decided to return to the past. "**

**"They must have been to hell and now again from scratch they pass it again. Decide to re-cross all over again is not simple or easy matter, given that they can easily make a mistake in the plan and fall but they decided to do it. Now it is clear his behavior towards me and his stance in a letter that refers to me. Perhaps in the future we have a different attitude. "..... Iruka had a sad voice:"Now, their decision seems even more difficult, because they put at risk all."**

**"I do not know whether it is possible that we see their memories. I think it would be resolved a lot of things." ...... Inoichi Yamanaka that advice.**

**"Probably would facilitate insight into their secret. But the two have not spoken to anyone for help. Why? Perhaps they are your idea considered and possibly have found a way to prevent you to do it but why not ask for help?" ... ... Might Guy intervene in the conversation.**

**"Prohibition!" .... Kurenai said, "What if they are forbidden to ask for help?"**

**"But who barred them?" ..... Asuma said:""And when they come from the future? If they were older, how is it that they come in the form of a seven-year. What happened to Naruto and Sasuke in our time?"**

**"Hell, we solve one issue, it creates a million other questions ...." .... Iruka was angry.**

**The situation was serious and for a moment it seemed unsolvable.**

 


	41. FOX SPIRIT

****

**For the next few days Sasuke and Naruto are resting. The situation in Konoha was quiet. Sasuke is every night going to a meeting with Sakura while Naruto went on long walks without exercise. Here and there could be stretched. Naruto also grew close with the owner of Ramen Ichiraku, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, being welcomed as their favorite customer.**

**Their peers he did not see and he asked where they were. Kakashi, Gay, Asuma and Iruka to join him in the evening. Kakashi, Gay, Asuma and Iruka to join him in the evening. He enjoyed their company. They would now and then find out how it was for him to Root.**

**From them he learned that they all suddenly become interested in extra exercise.**

**He chuckled: "It is very good for them ....." .... he was something else wanted to say but could not, because he stopped in time and views over the eye in Kakashi, who was sitting next to him:"** **Kakashi senpai ....."......that he wanted to ask him a question but it's back suddenly slammed Jiraiya:" Naruto how are you?"....he asked, with a mischievous smile.**

**" Ero-sennin, I'm good but I'm bored! Tsunade ba chan is dangerous when she's angry.".....he made grin on his face because he remembered how she loved him with one finger thrown into the distance.**

**He and here wanted to say something but he stopped again. You could see through him that he was frustrated.**

**"I think it's time you learn something new!" .... Jiraiya watched him how he would react .**

**"After all the action!" .... he smiled but here he paused as he remembered how he had learned summoning technique.**

**How he could say what he thinks, because it has become too hard for him, "See you!" .... he just said and left them.**

**"Now it is certain that he knows our habits. Probably it hard as he can not to talk to us as he spoke before .... I guess ...."....they all agree.**

**Naruto is the way to the apartment thinking about the past.**

**When he entered the apartment just took a deep breath, "I'm coming home!" .... he shouted from the door.**

**"Welcome home!" .... Sasuke called out of the room.**

**Sasuke is dinner time noticed that Naruto quiet, "Naruto, what's your problem?" ... he asked.**

 

**"How do to get in touch with other jinchūriki?" .... thought Naruto out loud:" I can not use sage mode, or your chakra Kurama! What do I do?" .... he said in an undertone.**

**Sasuke is also considered but nothing came to mind.**

**"Naruto, I can to assist you!" .... they heard Kurama.**

**"How do?" .... quickly asked him.**

**"Naruto, you forget that the prohibition does not apply to me. Brat. Fine, I am going to teach you a summoning jutsu. Before you say anything, listen for once in your life."........... two of them remain speechless.**

**"Kurama, are you kidding me? I know a summoning jutsu!".... Naruto was surprised:" Why now?"**

**"Because that's what you need now. Before you did not have to. Summoning jutsu for the frogs you can not use for now"... Kurama said seriously:" Naruto, you've earned it! The summoning contract that I will give you, is call for spirit foxis."....Kurama said:" I do not know what will happen later, when you invoked toads, because each species has its own laws, but I think it will be no problem. Great Toad Sage is the oldest and most respected toad of all the inhabitants of Mount Myōboku, he is very wise. ".... yet he added, "Sasukee a warning , spirit foxes and snakes do not agree. You're going to have to do something about it. "**

**"Kurama, I did not know that you can give me a contract for the summon.".....Naruto still did not believe.**

**"Naruto, the beast we're pure natural energy. Of course we are able to do that. The others have the same possibility. We exist from the beginning in this world. The contract with us is not the same as a normal contract. We are in relation to the spirits who are before us were in this world. "..... he gave him explanation.**

**"When you call one of the spirit foxes, I will be able to communicate with her telepathically. Oh, and probably you should keep in mind, head for the foxes will be, me. So far, no man had no honor, nor the opportunity to gain a contract from me for summoning. I'm giving it to you, because you're special to me.".....Kurama was in the background of his mind waving ears.**

**"So this contract of summon, should I signed or what?"....Naruto asked, puzzled.**

**And out of nowhere, crimson red scroll appears on wave of red chakra.**

**"You know what to do, because the process is the same. You write the name of your own blood and put fingerprints under your name."....he gave him instructions.**

**When he did crimson red roll disappear in the red chakra.**

**"The little spirit foxes not need a lot of chakra, but if you use a lot of chakra it will be a complete replication of my demonic form. If that does not happen, somewhere on your body I will set the small seal that will regulate your chakra. You pick the place." ..... he explained.**

**"From behind the neck!" ....he said and he moved the hair from his neck, and he felt a burning sensation: "Auch!"....... he gasped.**

**The seal was the size of 3 cm in diameter, in the form of the hexagram. ( union of the spiritual and the physical )**

**North of Sunrise Valley lies the Green Hills Mountain, where you can find many jade on its southern slope and of the green cinnabar in the north. ( where the resident spirit foxes that can be summon )**

**"What now?" .... Naruto was confused.**

**"You two have written a letter and I will deliver them!" .... he sighed."**

**"Sasuke, you write a letter. You're smarter than me in these things." .... Naruto said:** **"We know where they are. Yugito Nii, she is in Kumo, the vllage in the clouds;  Roshi, he is inside villige of Iwa, the rock country; Han, he is in the Iwa too; Utakata, the Mist villige, Kiri; Fuu, Takigakure, the villige hidden by a waterfall; Killer Bee, Kumo;**

**Yagura, Kiri......hm, for him I do not know. In our time, he was already caught but maybe this time managed to escape .".....Naruto spoke.**

**Leave that to me!" .... Kurama said.**

 

 _ **Dear Jinchuriki**_  
_**We've met on a bit unusual way. We were in full connection when I managed to enter deeper into the Tailed Beast Psychic Plane.**_  
_**Shukaku....Garaa, Matatabi....Yugito Nii, Isobu....Yagura, Son Gokū....Rōshi, Kokuō....Han, Saiken....Utakata, Chōmei....Fū, Gyūki....Killer B, I'm Naruto, jinchūriki of nine tails, Kurama.**_  
_**All other details will transfer your beast, my friends. I hope that we will soon all to see.**_  
**_Naruto_ **

 

**"I think it's okay, because we no longer anything we can not say.**

**Kurama, the rest is up to you." .... Naruto said.**

**"Well, it's not over. Each letter will have seal, my mark." ...** **red chakra appeared out of nowhere and at the back of the enclosed letter appears seal with the tag ying and yang. Now everything is as it should be! Naruto, make a seal."......Kurama said.**

**While he made signs with the fingers, ( Kurama ) hands in the background making those same signs but from back to front, and in front of them in an explosion of smoke appears nine small, white fox.**

**"Wow, Kurama!" .... one of the foxes was blinking her eyes and looked around where it is, and when she felt the chakra of Kurama, she was surprised.**

** **

**"Hey, Mai long time no see. How are you?" ..... Kurama's greetings.**

**"Kurama, long time no see. Do not tell me that you are still in the hands of man." .... Mai said.**

**"Mai, I can be free, but I decided of my will that I should be with this child to the end. Mai not make jokes with him, he's special to me." ..... Kurama explain her and give her a warning.**

**"This child!" .... she jumped Naruto on the shoulder and she kick off him sniff: "I like him! Similar in nature to us, little prankster." .... she said, "What is your name, child ? "..... she said.**

**"Naruto!" .... he said, "Kurama, who is she?"**

**"Mai, she is the head of a fox, and with her you made a contract." .... him explained.**

**"Mai, a nice name and you're beautiful." .... Naruto looked at her his shining, heavenly eyes and scratched it behind the ears.**

**"Kurama, it is no wonder that you loved him. The child, tell me what to do." .... she wrapped her big, furry tail around his neck.**

**"This letter should be submitted to certain persons as me impossible for now. Long story." .... he smiled and he leaned down to caress other foxes: "I hope to get to know me and you." .... each of them licked his hand, "Mai, he is ...." ... one of them tried to say something , but Mai stop and just said: "Perhaps!"**

**Sasuke followed the conversation and something to him was so strange: "Damn Naruto, what you've now gotten." .... but that he slipped from his mind because there was Kurama:" While he was in charge, Naruto will be ok."**

**Naruto each of them put a roll around the neck and said, "Go and come back soon!"**

**Mai was left with him.  Kurama told her the whole story.**

**"I've never heard a story like this. My children you're crazy! Change the past .... Hell, what they are think up. ".... Mai said:" Ah, yes, my children will return soon. Expect them! ".... Mai disappears in a cloud of smoke.**

**"To them I expect? What is Mai mean by that?" .....asked Naruto.**

**"Fox Spirit in the moment may be at very remote locations over a thousand miles if you know the goal and target. Do not worry, they should be back soon." .... Kurama explained: "Naruto, fox spirit is not animals but spirits which take the form of real animals but only on appearance. Naruto left speechless, because it was known that he is afraid of ghosts: "Wow ... um ... do not say that I own spirits. Damn! I ..."**

**"Brat, are you listening to me what I say all the time. Obviously not, but you do not have to be afraid, because you have a contract with them. You stupid brat!" ....shouted at him Kurama while him Sasuke sympathetically looked and he just said, "For God's sake!" .... he gasped and rolled his eyes .**

**While they were arguing back up all eight fox with letters.**

**Impressed word spirit Naruto is wary: "Um, I'm sorry, but can I get a letter." ..... he is waiting for their response.**

**"Damn brat, take scriptures and read it!" .... Kurama yelled again.**

**"Bloody hell, Kurama, do not cry. I'll take them." ..... he snorted and bent down to the little foxes.**

**He of them picked up the letter, he thanked them and he rubbed behind her ears: "Thank you!" .... while Sasuke muffled laugh.**

**"What is certain, is certain. I do not want to hurt them in any way!" .... murmured beneath his chin, and he spoke to them: "Is that right?"**

**Foxes licked his fingers and disappeared in a cloud of dust, "Kurama, I'm right! Um, I think. Probably!"....Sasuke failed to keep laughing and he began to laugh loudly.**

**"Bloody hell, stop laughing and help me read." ... he was serious.**

**"Naruto, I like you, all this time you have not changed at all!" .... Sasuke said, and he embraced him:" "Let's see!"**

  

**Hello, Uzumaki Naruto**

** **

**I am Yugito. I did not expect to see a fox in front of my door.**  
**Since then, Killer Bee, you know him, says that he received a letter from his friend.**  
**He does not stop to talk, talk .... um ... he does not speak, he rhymes.**  
**Read his letter, I think you will laugh because of his awful rhymes.**  
**Ok. That's all for now.**  
**See you!**  
**Yugito Nii**  
**P.S. Matatabi says hello.**

**He opened the next letter and make a grin.**

 

**Naruto baka Yaro**

** **

**I received your letter and I was hit by a tear**  
**Gyukli says hello I speak for a long time no see**  
**Well, I gotta go baka Yaro**  
**We speak later conoyaro.**  
**See you!**  
**Killer Bee**

**"Killer Bee, he and Gyuki, I miss them." .... Naruto felt a spark of fun and laughed.**

 

**Uzumaki Naruto**

** **

**Here Han!**  
**Long time no see. I'm glad we can start all over again.**  
**My mind was a mess, but your white fox is improved thing.**  
**I hope we will meet soon.**  
**P.S.**  
**Kokuō says hello!**

 

**Dear Uzumaki Naruto**

**I am Roshi! Son Goku is anxious to see you.**  
**Time is on our side!**  
**See you!**  
**Roshi**

**"Kurama, we're all in touch!" ..... Naruto laughed.**


	42. CLOSED-DOOR MEETING 2

**Five days after the first meeting, followed by a second meeting in the same composition. Everyone had a task to everyone in their own way try to clarify the facts submitted in a single unit.**

**However they had a meeting the day before but without the presence of Hokage. Hokage was preoccupied with his thoughts, and he was looking for a solution alone.**

**"We agree with all that they are time travelers. They come from the future to stop a full-scale war."......Jiraiya began meeting with the his statement:"For all we know for now is involved in a war Nagato, but I guess the organization Akatsuki also. My information is that the organization Akatsuki is on the hunt for are humans that have tailed beasts sealed within them. They exhibit extraordinary powers due to the immense chakra reserves they possess. This category includes Naruto. I do not know why they want to have held nine beasts."**

**"Probably they need these nine beasts for war, but what and how they intend to use them do not know."......said Kakashi:"Naruto is in danger!"**

**"So far there is no information whether they are able to catch a Jinchuriki. Just got a piece of information which is a bit strange, Fourth Mizukage Yagura stepped down and no one knows where he is. He's probably on the run. As a Jinchuriki, he became known as the third person to achieve full control over a tailed beast but you said that he contacted Naruto. If he is in the shadow of why he exhibited and risked life to meet with Naruto. Unless the stakes a little higher than his life."**

**We can expect Akatsuki arrival!" .... notice them Jiraiya.**

**"I think it would be good to inform the villages that Jinchuriki in danger." .... Asuma gave advice.**

**"Now the question arises here. Naruto and Sasuke are likely to do first, because they know they are in danger. I would have let them them to do on their way, with respect, if we notifications villages may introduce strong control what will their plan disturb. "..... Jiraiya stood up.**

**"We do not know everything about Naruto. It would not be surprising that he is in control of nine tails." ... Kakashi was thinking out loud."Maybe that part when you asked him to try to use chakra of the nine tails may have been acting on their behalf."**

**"I'm interested in why they came back to the past?" .... Anko wondered."Who won? What happened in the future that they are willing to put everything on the line?"**

**They made a pause and pose dealt with the issue by thinking.**

**"There are only two reasons. Either they have lost, or the result of the war was not favorable. I am thinking of the victims. The war large-scale causes a large number of victims. Me more somehow corresponds to the latter solution as I was able get to know Naruto and Sasuke in this short period of time. If they won with a large number of casualties on their side may be the cause of their arrival in the past.**

**By timely their actions, they would be able to change events that have occurred or even to prevent war. For me it is a big enough stake to return to the past."....Shikaku Nara has explained the issue.**

**"I agree with that knowing Naruto." Iruka said .... recalling the meeting in the office Hokage when Naruto returned from Root and he is his thinking said loudly:" I think he was deeply moved when he looked at you Jiraiya. You're probably in his time meant a lot to him."**

**"Are you going to say to me something happened?" ..... Jiraiya him a quick glance.**

**"I do not know but I guess." .... Iruka replied: "I have a question Jiraiya? What were you going with him when you were back in Konoha?"**

**"Well, I take him with me on a journey for a longer period to teach him some things that he is able to defend itself from Akatsuki." .... he said.**

**"If this happened in his time must you become close to that journey." .... Iruka smiled: "Naruto at this time there was no one close, everybody hated him ..... maybe it was case in his time but are traveling with you, you might have become close. If he had a major role in the war ,if he lost a large number of people who were close to him ....." .... he paused for a moment: "All options are open ..."**

**"Well, I think we have some issues solved." .... Kakashi took a deep breath.**

**"We come to the question, why are they not turn to anyone for help. Kurenai said that they might be forbidden to speak. But who would be able to ban them?" .... Asuma starts to open a new question.**

**"Um, someone who has the power." .... Kurenai said.**

**"But what kind of power?" ..... Might Guy join the conversation. "This person must have the power that exceeds the power of the common man. Someone who is powerful enough to act on them through space and time."**

**Before them interfere problem that they had to figure out at all costs.**

**"Only one person has such power........The Sage of the Six Paths legendary god!"......Tsunade said finally:"Just a strong personality who is able to put the ban. But how .... I think this is not so easy to detect, because for God's sake, he is the law, his word is powerful enough that the two of them are not allowed to say anything."**

**They were surprised by her answer, but they knew that she was not joking: "What happened in the future?" ..... they are all thinking the same thing: "Sasuke and Naruto are the possible agreement with him. In fact, what they are they did, that they deserve his attention. "**

**"But how did they come into contact with him. He's a legend and he is no longer alive." .... Asuma gasp.**

  **"I think we've arrived somewhere. Now we just need to find anything that has to do with the Sage of the Six Paths." ..... Might Guy notes.**

**"I think it's best to ask Hyuga Elder.The Hyuga clan are descendants from the Ōtsutsuki clan, specifically from Hamura Ōtsutsuki's lineage. As a result, they are also distant cousins of the Uchiha, Senju Uzumaki, and Kaguya clans. Probably they have an archive of their ancestors. Maybe they have a record of Sage of the Six Paths."....Jiraiya to say it.**

**"I have one more question? What happened to Sasuke and Naruto in our time?" .... Asuma asked them.**

**Shikaku Nara he had something else in mind: "We all assume that they come from the future, but what if we all came back from the future, but only two of them have memories of what happened .....?"**

**Everyone stares at him pale face.  In the room was dead quiet. No one wanted to speak first. That knowledge were all deeply shocked and surprised.**

**"It is possible that option!" .... Kakashi said quietly.**            

**Inoichi Yamanaka on to say: "We can easily identify with Mind Reading Techniques but it is a huge deal. We could begin the first of us, and then slowly spread to other. If our memory erased all of us should have the same pattern in place when it happened. The memories would be finished in the same place for all of us. "**

**"We have no choice. Tomorrow we will present our findings third Hokage." ... Tsunade finishes.**

**"Another thing the third Hokage decided to say the village of Naruto. I think we need to admit that we were wrong." ..... Jiraiya notices them, and then he spoke.**

**"OK, now we know more. Probably Naruto has a collaboration with nine tails, they have returned or we were all back in time with those that they know or have memories. We know who forbade them that they speak, we know that will come to large-scale war soon but the only thing we do not know is "Who is the mind behind the war?" .... Shikaku summarizes thing:" Here comes me to mind what was said Hokage .... who was behind the attack nine tails on Konah? Are they related Minato death and war? '"**

**"Knowing Minato, he did not do anything if there was no sense, but if it is assumed that a war could come, under my influence because of the prophecies for which he is known and that the attacker is dangerous for the future, Minato of his son made Jinchuriki to prevent it. ".... Jiraiya thought.**

**"Now we know another fact. The mind behind the attack of nine tails on Konoha, is the same mind behind the war." ....Might Guy completed exposure.**

**"Naruto and Sasuke know who is the mind. How can we find out who that person is but that they do not violate the ban?" ... Asuma said.**

**"I think it all needs to take out the Third Hokage, and probably he has some of his ideas." ... Tsunade said, and they conclude with that meeting, leaving that Inoichi Yamanaka decide when to make a Mind Reading Techniques on them. "**  

  


	43. RETURN ITACHI IN KONOHA

**Itachi woke up.**

**With the bed watching a place where he was and whether he was aware:"Our house in Konoha! Hm, I long ago I did not have such a good night's sleep.".....he stretched and he got up out of bed.**

**Overlooking the eye piece of paper, take him and he began to read.**

**"Itachi I hope you'll stay a while here. Do not go in the Akatsuki! The food you get at the time." .... it said in a message.**

**He again returned to the bed, and began to think about the events that occur.**

**"Naruto gave me a new life,but why? I can correct to some extent the committed crimes. Where did he know me when we met for the first time. He says I'm his friend.".....f** **rom Naruto memories which Kurama intentionally released he picked up many things although they were confused.**

**In them, he saw images that could not be classified anywhere.**

**"Naruto and Sasuke....".....he began to think:"How is it possible to have so much confidence in each other? Impossible! Naruto was not present in the village all this time. Six years were separated without contact between them. In Sasuke has no hatred toward me. Do not tell my whole work in vain.**

**Naruto....is a powerful shinobi, his technique that I was cured is unknown, its powerful chakra is immeasurable obviously comes out of nine tails ... which can only mean one thing ... Naruto is in control of the beast. On the other hand is Sasuke who has surpassed all my expectations. How? What is happening?"".....he is sunken in the image of Naruto memories.**

**The first image was Chunin exam Forest of Death where he saw Orochimaru as he brands him with the Cursed Seal of Heaven "... he to that image firmly gasp but was followed by a picture on which he was completely speechless .... meetings between two of them where he allows Sasuke an opportunity to demonstrate how much stronger he's become, which he does by attacking with Chidori. he easily blocks the attack and breaks Sasuke's arm, but he is stopped from going further by the arrival of Jiraiya. When Jiraiya states his intention to defeat both itachi and his partner Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasuke demands that itachi was left for him. Uninterested, itachi Sasuke kicks away and uses Tsukuyomi to force him to experience their parents' murders over and over again. Before Sasuke passes out , itachi informs him that he is still weak. " ......impossible this did not happen.**

**Other pictures ....Itachi approaches Sasuke, repeating his intention to take Sasuke's eyes, and Sasuke makes futile attempts to keep him away. Susanoo continues to protect Itachi, but it degrades as he labors near and Itachi starts coughing up blood. When he finally reaches Sasuke, Itachi appears to grab for his eyes but instead only pokes his forehead. Itachi smiles, apologizes to Sasuke, and says this is the end before falling dead. Sasuke is confused about what has happened, but smiles for finally avenging his family before passing out."......Itachi suddenly came out of memories: "For God's sake, I'm not dead yet, I'm still alive!" ... he continued to think but he has not looked at the pictures."I have had this intention but as this picture here, this has not happened yet. As I watch the events from the future!"**

**"But if this is the future, of where this memory with Naruto, this should be the memory of Sasuke."....he was confused and he returned to the image of Naruto memories or pictures were fuzzy, but caught flashes where mentioned Fourth Shinobi World War. "**

**"In memory of Sakura, Sasuke left Konoha, but he's here now. Kakashi is a story in itself. He has already experienced my Mangekyo Sharingan, but how .... we did not have a close encounter ...?** **These are images that show the future but ...." .... the more he thought he was getting more confused:""I think I need help!".....here, then he remembered the bottle with Shisui eye that gave him Naruto: "Why me?"**

**"Itachi, something bothering you?" ..... Itachi jumped, because he heard a voice from the darkness that was coming from the third Hokage.**

**"How?" .... he asked, puzzled.**

**"Formula barrier!"......smiled Hiruzen" Because when you left Konoha I also promised not to change the village's formula barrier, enabling you to sneak in from time to time to watch Sasuke from afar. The formula is still active but with a small change. "**

**"I forgot about that in spite of these events with the two of them." .... Itachi believed that Hiruzen knew what was going on.**

**"Itachi, the situation has changed. I think we need your help." .... he said.**

**"It seems that you are confused. Naruto and Sasuke is not it?" ..... Itachi nodded: "If I can help, I will help you. I think I owe my life to them. What is happening?"**

 

** The conversation between Itachi and Haruzen **

 

**"Itachi, two of them have come from the future is likely that they change the past. There are still many issues to solve exactly." .... that he interrupted him: "So what I've seen in the memories with Naruto happened. Now it is clearer where me he knows. To meeting with Naruto I still had a plan that I influence the Sasuke that he hated me enough, because I think that just as a member of the same clan can judge me but did not turn out that way. But after he gave me another chance I decided to fight my fate."**

**"Can you tell me exactly what happened between you and Naruto?".....he asked seriously.**

**"Naruto has cured me. I am soon supposed to die of fatal disease." ... he said, and describe exactly what happened: "I was unable to move from his views and did all what he was telling me without being able to I stand up. His eyes were glowing shine like gold and his chakra was golden red. It was a warm, calming .... we have replaced a chakra .... or is he through his chakra cured my .... I do not know. ... for such a proceeding I have not heard. I hope that with him all right, because there was an explosion of his chakra. He is in control of nine tails. "**

**"Do not worry, he's okay!" .... reassure him Haruzen.**

**"I have some ideas but I will have to hear first what others have to say. Some are mad at me as Kakashi ..." ... he said.  
"Why Kakashi?" .... here it Haruzen tell him the secrets of Konoha and finally said:  "You have my permission to stay in Konoha but for now keep it a secret to another meeting."**

  


	44. CLOSED-DOOR MEETING 3

**In the office Hokage was very lively. At the meeting they came all earlier than usual. In the last time they came Hyuga Elder and Hiashi Hyuga.**

**Hiruzen asked them to sit down but before the meeting began he said:" Will join us one more member who responded to my call. You might wonder why I have exactly called that person but he the most help in the concluding facts.**

**You might be angry and mad at the person but I think the time has come to Konoha to move forward. All we have done mistakes and we have learned to them, at least I do. In this situation we need any help if we want all of us to Naruto and Sasuke succeed in his plan. Please come! ".... he invite that person to join them.**

**All are forged that person with impatience.**

**They open the door and enter Itachi Uchiha. To expect it would be that there will be murmuring and clamor but not. Is that they were surprised but before they were important matters to discuss.**

**Itachi and the third Hokage were more surprised by them.**

**Jiraiya remarked: "In the the right time!"**

**Some of them looked at him angrily and said under his breath: "Nice work you did in Konoha!"**

**"I'm sorry!" .... he them seriously looked, and said, "Well, if I could get into of Konoha free, can enter and others. It should start working at the insurance of Konoha."**

**"Well, good suggestion!" .... said Asuma somewhat with angry voice.**

**"For God's sake, not my fault!" .... he had a mischievous smile.**

**"Enough! Itachi, you sit." .... spoke to him Haruzen, and he sat down next to Kakashi who looked over his eyes: "Well, you've got to thank Naruto and Sasuke. I'm sure they would be able boot up Konoha in the air if what happened to you. "**

**"Kakashi I know it very well, because I owe Naruto my life. He saved me and gave me a new life. To live a thousand years I him I could not repay the debt." .... Itachi said sincerely,and then said: "First I want to hear under what conditions I have done what I did. I can not defend myself but here are some facts may be relevant to this meeting."**

**"Feel free to go on!" .... Kakashi said.**

**"I knew for Uchiha coup that led to the intervention of other places, and finally start World War II, something that I could not support. I am instead became a double agent, informed himself about the actions Uchiha clan Third Hokage and Konoha Council in the hope that it would help to find a peaceful solution.**

**I have shared the burden of betraying my clan with Shisui. But as time passed it became increasingly clear that peace can not be achieved. Shisui, he intended to use his Kotoamatsukami on the Uchiha leaders to force them to negotiate, but he is right eye is stolen of Danz Shimura before he had a chance to do it. Its capabilities have been exhausted, Shisui to me entrusted his remaining eye and he asked me to protect the village and our family name before he drowns in the river Naka.**

**Although the Third Hokage still wished to negotiate with the Uchiha, Danzō Shimura recognised that there was no longer an outcome that could see the Uchiha clan's survival. He explained it me and left me a choice: support the Uchiha coup and have the whole clan, including Sasuke who will be killed in the conflict that ensued, or accept the task and destroy clan before they attack began and Sasuke would have been saved. I chose my brother.  
**

**While I carried out final preparations, I discovered a masked man who was sneaking around Konoha. Interesting was what he had sharingan and by his behavior, I discovered that he knows all about Konoha. I have to believe that this man Madara Uchiha who came to provoke a new conflict. I approached him with a proposal. I will assist him to erase the Uchiha clan, getting revenge against him as he left before, if he spared the village. He agreed.**

**Afterwards, I disguised a crow clone as a member of Root to threaten Danzō I would leak Konoha's secrets to enemy villages if he touched Sasuke, having realised Danzō could not be trusted to keep his promises. I left the village publicly a traitor but secretly with a new mission: to infiltrate Tobi's organisation, Akatsuki, and keep it from moving against Konoha."......Itachi had finished his story.**

**"Damn, Danzo! ".....Kakashi is violently reacted: "Naruto had every right!"**

**"The masked man, Madara ... new facts." ..... Hiruzen said.**

**Shikaku continue with his presentation:" We agree with all that they are time travelers. They come from the future to stop a full-scale war.For all we know for now is involved in a war Nagato, but I guess the organization Akatsuki also. They need nine beasts for war, but what and how they intend to use them do not know. What happened in the future that they are willing to put everything on the line? There are only two reasons.**

**Either they have lost, or the result of the war was not favorable. I am thinking of the victims. By timely their actions, they would be able to change events that have occurred or even to prevent war. For me it is a big enough stake to return to the past.**

**Why are they not turn to anyone for help? Kurenai said that they might be forbidden to speak. But who would be able to ban them? This person must have the power that exceeds the power of the common man. Someone who is powerful enough to act on them through space and time. We have come to the conclusion only one person has such power........The Sage of the Six Paths legendary god.**

**We just need to find anything that has to do with the Sage of the Six Paths. We invited you on the meeting, because we concluded that perhaps some chance you have in the archives about him.".....he addressed the representatives of Hyuga: We all assume that they come from the future, but what if we all came back from the future, but only two of them have memories of what happened .....?**

**We can easily identify with Mind Reading Techniques but it is a huge deal. Naruto has a collaboration with nine tails. The mind behind the attack of nine tails on Konoha, is the same mind behind the war. It is our conclusion."**

**"The fact put forward by Itachi can be taken into account as far as the masked man and Madara. In fact masked man probably has to do with the attack nine tails on Konah if he knows all about Konoha, is also responsible for the Uchiha clan so why not for war." ..... Kakashi said.**

**"Now remains only to find out who was that masked man whether the Madara or someone else who is hiding behind the name of Madara."....Shikaku said.**

**"Sage of the Six Paths, masked man and Madara.....now we just need to find out what they have in common. Uh, Sage, Madara and the masked man of which we know nothing ..... tough opponents .... but Sage was probably on the side of Naruto and Sasuke.... why would the Sage intervened in the war and how he came up with regard to is long dead .... Madara is also dead. More questions? .....What have gotten into our idiots? "..... Hiruzen sighed deeply.**

**"Change the Past! For two people ... mission impossible! What the two of them think?"....Kakashi was angry.**

**"Kakashi, they probably did not think if they offered a chance to return to the past but conditions .... under what conditions they came here."....Itachi was concerned:"Naruto certainly has controlled nine tails but he's holding it back? Why? Sasuke can activate the Mangekyo Sharingan but it is not used . How? Why?"....to him it comes to mind images of Naruto memories:" Well, if Sasuke killed me in his time he could take my eyes..."....him all looked surprised.**

**He recognized them his intentions he had with Sasuke on what Kakashi responds: "You're not normal ... Why?"**

**"Kakashi, he alone has the right to judge me! If me, he hated enough will be able to kill me but before that I am intended to him within his Sharingan transferred Transcription Seal: Amaterasu in order to protect Sasuke from a masked man who leads Akatsuki. At some point, I was diagnosed with a terminal illness is a disease that can not be cured or treated adequately and that is reasonably expected to result in death within a short period of time. I was kept alive through the years with medicine and ordinary willpower that I could live long enough to make me die of the Sasuke hands but thanks to Naruto and his technique I'm cured!".....Itachi said quietly:**

**"Sasuke does not hate me, which means that he knows my intentions and why I'm all done, this is what I did ."**

**No one could react, because the link between the two brothers was without limits.**

**" The two of them probably have, in their arsenal many jutsu they have gained in their time, but at this time they keep them hidden. It is likely their mastering the technique is now much easier and simpler. Perhaps this technique can be used with the time that they learn in their own time if they follow the time ..... this can be one of the conditions as they are not allowed to reveal anything. "..... Shikaku is thinking.**

**"That is why Naruto asked me to teach him the Sage technique. Perhaps the time has come to learn." .... Jiraiya had a smile:"Itachi I hope to get information of the Akatsuki." ..... Jiraiya looked at him.**

**"But Naruto has shown a technique for which I have not heard yet because nothing happened. Which means that the technique mastered when he was in the Root."....Hiruzen said.**

**"Naruto had no mission only for the Root, but also for others. Who knows where and from whom he learned the technique?"....Kakashi said quickly.**

 

**PROPOSAL**

 

**"I have a suggestion!" .... The third Hokage looked at them, "Itachi!" ... he said to him: "I think it would be good to get back to Konoha but secretly. Root was disbanded. Former members Root expressed the wish that they keep Naruto as his secret guard. ".... this caused a stir in the office.**

**"It is impossible, why are they loyal to Naruto?" ..... Asuma asked.  
"Who knows? His six years in Root was enough that it affects Danzo, which I find hard to believe but it's true. If he acted positively on him, I do not see why he would not act on them. Maybe it was his purpose when he entered in the Root. They are all very good shinobi. The war can never have enough good shinobi, but who knows what the plan has Naruto? ".....third Hokage thought.**

**"Are you going to say to them Konoha would not accept nor Itachi." .....Might Guy interfere with the conversation.**

**"Not at all strange. Neither Naruto is not accepted by the entire Konoha. They are all renegades from Konoha." ...... Kurenai said:" I'm sorry Itachi?"**

**"That's where I have a proposal that we reform the Root which would have led Itachi with former members of the old Root. The condition is you achieve cooperation with Naruto. I think he would be pleased with this proposal. If we all agree you talk to Naruto.".....third Hokage gives the proposal to a vote.**

**No one complained and all voted for.**

**"The second proposal which I put to the vote is to become the next Hokage Tsunade, because I after the Chunin exam resign from the spot Hokage. I think that Konoha must take a new path with fresh minds.".....Hiruzen said and no one was against.**

**" As far as the Sage of the Six Paths, I leave it up to Elder Hyuga and Hiashi Hyuga if you agree. If you need anything feel free to ask me and I'll help you out. "......they get along with this proposal.**

**"The rest we will deal with the identity of the masked man and explore all of the Madara." .... he eventually said: "Of course we are all responsible to watch the two of them!"**

**"Old man, you've changed!" .... Asuma looked at his father with tender eyes.**

**"It is time for change!" .... he just said.**

 


	45. THE FIRE FOX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New organization in Konoha....

                                                                              

 

**Itachi is the same day under the cover of darkness knocked on the door of the apartment of Sasuke.**

**The door was opened by Naruto and he was stunned. Then he closed the door, but then he heard a knock again.**

**"Sasuke!" .... invite him on: "Please come second."**

**Sasuke came to him and they heard a knock, "Naruto why do not you open the door?" ..... he looked at him, puzzled.**

**"Um, Sasuke open these door!" .... he replied.**

**"For God's sake!" ..... Sasuke opened the door and shut it.**

**They heard the knock again but are they just heard a voice: "You two idiots, open the door!" .... voice sounded annoyed.**

**Sasuke opened the door with an activated sharingan "Naruto get ready!" .... he whispered.**

**Naruto pulled the katana and stood by the door while Sasuke opened the door.**

**Itachi is standing with his arms crossed on his chest: "Your two are really idiots!" .... he passed and went into the apartment, stopping katana in one hand. "Well, I passed all the pain just to kill me now. It's nice."**

**"Itachi, what are you doing here? If you discover all my efforts failed." ...... Naruto was confused.**

**"Do not worry, everything's fine. Third Hokage he let me in Konoha." ..... he looked at Sasuke. "I'm glad to see you!"**

**"Itachi, how?" .... Sasuke was surprised and did not know how to react.**

**"Hiruzen caught me. To my surprise we had a long talk and he suggested that I secretly go back underground Konoha and that I take place of Danzo. "....he is eagerly anticipated their reaction.**

**Sasuke looked at him wide-eyed as well as Naruto.**

**Sasuke pulled Naruto with him on the balcony and whispered: "Do you trust him? It turned out better than we expected."**

**"Well, we have no choice but to trust him. Any help is welcome. Third Hokage knows his business." .... Naruto did not hide a smile: "Ne, Sasuke now you have a chance with him to be much more.".....they return to Itachi, and Sasuke pulled him into a hug, "You do not know how I missed you!"**

**"I know Sasuke!" .... he returned the embrace as he looked to Naruto. "Thank you!" .... he without the voice said.**

**"The two of us are just getting ready for dinner. I will prepare something for you." ..... Naruto left them gently humming.**

**Naruto knew everything about Itachi. Itachi's favorite foods were cabbage and onigiri with seaweed in it, while his least favorite was steak. He was also very fond of sweets, dango being his favorite.**

**Sasuke and Itachi sat in the kitchen watching Naruto.**

**Before Naruto went to the kitchen, Sasuke put his finger over the lip of Itachi and he whispered: "Do not say anything!" .... so he pulled him and they sit at the kitchen table.**

**Itachi was deeply surprised and confused when he saw a fridge full of different food as well as kitchen cupboard for a variety of herbs and spices."** **Sasuke ....!"  
**

**Sasuke shook his head, and he was followed every Naruto movement.**

**Naruto was a master with kitchen knives, peelers and hacking were perfect, not made a single superfluous movement.  
**

**Itachi was fascinated: "Damn it, whether he shinobi, or a cook."  
**

**But when he began to put various grasses Itachi frowned: "I guess me, he does not intend to poison,"**

**Soon the whole kitchen smelled delightful scents that they are even more hungry, that their saliva dripped from his mouth .**

**"Sasuke, you're the luckiest man in the world." .... Itachi whispered in his ear.**

**"Yes I did, without him I would not be here now." .... Sasuke whispered with a smile.**

**Itachi watched him: "I think they went through hell ...." .... he thought to himself:"Naruto is a mystery. All who come in contact with him, they are changing. "**

**"There are still hungry!" ..... Kakashi could not resist the smells and he flew through the balcony door.**

**Sasuke and Itachi, they jump out of the chair, and Itachi shouted angrily: "You got the door!"**

**"Ok!"....he said, and he went out the door, and when he closes behind he knocks.**

**They were left confused:"I did not know that Kakashi knows to tease!" .... Itachi met the new Kakashi.**

**Kakashi, do you know for Itachi when you're not surprised to see him. "... Sasuke said.**

**"Somehow," .... he said, and sat down at the table.**

**Soon they were all at the table and enjoy a meal.**

**Itachi never eaten better food, "Naruto this is fantastic. Soon would arise kidnapping in Konoha!" ... Itachi murmured contentedly.**

**"Maybe murder!" .... Kakashi and Sasuke are under his breath also satisfied murmured.**

**"Guys! There will be no abduction and murder while I'm here. All are welcome whenever you want." ..... Naruto said while stretched.**

**"Ahem! maybe we want to stay here. ".... Itachi and Kakashi looked at Naruto, rosy cheeks, because Mei .... fox spirit is Naruto gave a seductive look.  
**

**Sasuke just rolled his eyes: "Naruto, you have no idea with whom you made the contract."**

**"Naruto, how do you want to be called a new organization, because you will be the the main organizer." ... Itachi looked at him through the lashes while Naruto looked at him in surprise.**

**"Why me?" .... he looked at him quizzically.**

**"Former members of Root, everyone wants to be your personal guard!" .... Itachi was still watching.**

**"I'm not that important. Konoha is more important." .... Naruto was red in the face.**

**The three of them are thinking, "Sucker!"**

**"It was a condition that gave me the third Hokage, to be in Konoha." .... Itachi said.**

**Naruto started to think deeply, occasionally looking at Sasuke who is also considered.**

**At one time the two of them looked at, and Naruto said: "Fire Fox! So will be named organization. "**

**"Good name for a the organization!".....Itachi agreed.**

**"Well, it will be some kind of secret organization, is not it?" .... Naruto asked and he gets a response.**

**Here Naruto gets in thinking and in his mind he had a discussion with Kurama.**

**"Kurama, do you have an idea for logo of the organization?" .... Kurama snorted: "Of course!"**

**Naruto got up from the table and went to the room. He was gone for a while on what they are surprised.  
**

**When he returned he put the paper in front of Itachi said: "This will be the logo of the organization!"**

  **"Wow!"....said Itachi.**

**Sasuke knew that it was the work of Kurama and smiled:"I like it!"**

**Then Naruto held up his left sleeve and showed a tattoo: "I hope that this will be enough for the Third Hokage. With this and I become member of the organization!"**

**"Naruto ...." .... Kakashi wanted to say something but he stopped him:"This is the work of nine tails. Since he is with me and take care of wound healing he made this tattoo. He will make the other tattoos, no pain just to feel a burning sensation."**

**"Okay, can he make me a tattoo!" .... Sasuke said.**

**Naruto leaned his hand on the shoulder of Sasuke. Reddish chakra appears below the palm. But in the next moment, it was over. Sasuke had the same tattoo as well as Naruto.**

**That was enough for Kakashi and Itachi to be sure that Naruto has a collaboration with nine tails.**

**"Well, when you two are already decided, I'm in it too!" .... Itachi up his sleeve and let Naruto make a tattoo.**

**Kakashi raised his sleeve: "Me too!" ... he said.**

**"Kakashi, you are a member of the Anbu!" .... Itachi said.**

**"I want this tattoo! I am not a permanent member of the Anbu squad. Only occasionally do the task for Hiruzen "" .... he persisted.**

**"Damn Kakashi, you are no longer a child!" .... Itachi had a smile:"I think our organization is waiting progress and success. Soon Anbu organization to cease its operation!"**

**That night established a secret organization in Konoha Firefox led by Itachi. Kakashi and Itachi for the first time in a long time felt the warmth of home. Sasuke and Naruto have become their world. Two powerful guards kept their backs safe.**

**The two of them were relieved, because they seemed to was a burden on their back became easier. Kakashi and Itachi observed them while they slept peacefully, and both had the same thought, determination and hope.**

 


	46. KONOHA INTELLIGENCE DIVISION 1

****

**** **Inoichi Yamanaka**

 

 **He is as examiner in Konoha torture and testing power was adept at mind reading techniques and sensory perception, where he was able to skillfully examines the mind.**  
**He could very long search for hidden things by the mind of another person, with the help of the device, it would take only a few minutes, even if they are set mental blocks and traps.**

**As it was agreed Inoichi Yamanaka did not want to delay things. In a few days everything was ready for the test-reading the minds of those present at the meeting that took place under a veil of secrecy in Konoha, and related Naruto and Sasuke.**

**"I'll be the first!" .... said Hiruzen.**

**Inoichi Yamanaka is primarily focused on data that were related to the war. However, such data was not at Hiruzen. He could not even detect that the memory was erased anywhere.**  
**Of course, as Naruto and Sasuke are returned deeper into the past. Hagoromo returned shinobi world at a time when Naruto and Sasuke chose "The Valley of the End," their first real conflict and breakup which is supposed to play soon.**

 **But as it happened time rift in their return to the past ..... things have changed.** **Neither amongst other nothing he could not reveal.**

**The conclusion was: "None of them did not come back from the future!"**

**Hiruzen then spoke again: "Inoichi attempt to explore my memories deeper into the past. Perhaps be hiding in my memory any random data in connection with the Madara and masked man."**

 

**An overwhelming surprise**

 

 **After a while Inoichi said: "I have encountered on a memory that has a strange formula that unlocks this memory.".....he was looking for a solution of the problem from a different angle."** **Bingo! This memory is connected to Minato.....and Naruto and Sasuke ....".....Inoichi was visibly excited but confused:"But the big difference in their appearance but these are the ones...."**

**Third Hokage was snapped up from his chair: "My memory is blocked and related to the Minato .... Who? ..." .... he was thinking, and then whispered: "Minato!" .... The others are confused by observed.**

**"Inoichi, please find out my memory ...." .... Hiruzen deep breath.**

**"Before that, I'd like to see if there are others with something like this." .... Inoichi submit Hiruzen who agree.**

**Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Itachi, Inoichi and some members of the Anbu team had the same kind of formula.**

 

**The memory**

 

_**"Hello young man I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, former Hokage of Konohagakure sato."....the old man said.** _

_**"You... are alive....old man?" ....Naruto was confused, surprised and happy then Naruto flinched: "This is not Konoha, the old man was killed. I must be under Genjutsu: Sharingan. Damn Sasuke Uchiha!" ..... he makes seal with closed eyes and cried: "Kai!"  
**_

_**When he opened his eyes again nothing has changed and he again repeated the same.** _

_**Hiruzen gave him a puzzled look and said: "My dear child, you are not under the Genjutsu. Minato, who is he?"** _

_**"Uzumaki Naruto!" ...... Minato said and looked at him:" We found him at the site of flash!"** _

_**The two men looked at each other a short time as to consult their eyes, and then the old man looked at him and he said:"Naruto Uzumaki, tell me again what the last thing you remember."** _

_**Naruto watched them afraid: "I did not do anything! I'm not guilty of what you accuse me. I want back in my Konoha. Kakashi sensei .... help me, where are you when I need you most?" ...... boy is slowly losing.** _

**Kakashi groaned, because they all looked memories of Hiruzen.**

_**Minato approached the boy and he said to him, "No one's accusing you of anything. Please calm down. Tell us frankly what all you remember." ..... Minato caressed the boy on the head: "I promise you that you no one will do anything. I'm Hokage and my word is law! "** _

_**The boy looked right in his eyes when he saw the determination in the blue eyes, he said :"** _ _**At the site of the Valley of the end, Sasuke Uchiha and I had a duel. Sasuke used Chidori, which was increased chakra of bloody seal. I used the Rasengan which was enhanced chakra of the nine tails. Upon contact, there was a big explosion, which form a sphere around us. The next thing I remember is waking up here. ".. .... he admitted.** _

_**" Chidori?"...."Rasengan!"......Minato was visibly excited.** _

_**"Jiraiya, legendary Sannin has taught me rasengan!" ..... he said " And chidori is Kakashi sensei passed on Sasuke Uchiha.".....Naruto was surprised by the reaction of the Minato not letting him out of sight.**_

_**Minato quickly came up to him: "Impossible!" ..... long watched his face and gently ran his fingertips across his cheek, "I can not believe it!" .... he then returned to Hiruzen but did not take his eyes off Naruto.** _

_**The old man groaned briefly and then asked, "Tell us everything you know!"** _

_**"I have thirteen. Without parents except that I got from my mother's last name. I was born on the night of October 10th, when nine tails attacked the village. That same night I was left without parents. I am of that day was dismissed from the village to the Chunin exams. I later learned from Jiraiya that I wear the beast in me. Group Akatsuki including Itachi Uchiha came for me to get the nine tails. All happiness Jiraiya took me under his control."......Naruto to that was trembling.**_

  _**"Why were you surprised to see me?"..... asked the old man suddenly.** _

_**The boy dropped the head and quietly said: "Because you're dead! ......Orochimaru with the help of the ninja from Suna attacked Konoha during the final battle in the Chuunin exam. He pretended to be Kazekage who was killed in the meantime. It happened very quickly after as all present were under the influence of genjutsu. You were sealed under a dome with Orochimaru. I know you used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, but Orochimaru was alive. "..... down his face slid off tears." I'm very happy which you can again meet in person. "** _

_**"I'm not going anywhere to escape but I would like to stay for some time alone." .... Naruto lay on the pillow and closed his eyes from which tears streamed.** _

_**He writhes on the bed and turned his back on them. Minato and Hiruzen have sadly watched the boy, but  Hiruzen also watched with concern in Minato who was leaning against the wall. His whole body was trembling as he quietly wept.** _

 

_**Minato closed the door and made the barrier, and then he addressed the audience:" This boy is a boy who appeared in Konoha a few days ago. His name is Naruto! What you learn here today, do not leave this room, I mean when you hear some of the things you will know how important it is for this nobody should know." ... he said.** _

_**All the participants were serious and nodded their heads.** _

_**"The jutsu that I'm going to implement allows projection of memories from the mind of a boy here present in our minds. You will not see his whole life but only his important memories and will happen chronologically. The boy can at any time stop me if something he does not wants to see. ".... Inoichi Yamanaka come forward and explain to the crowd, to which they are all a bit surprised.** _

_**"Naruto, you've understood everything....?"....... said gently Minato.** _

_**The boy took looked at the crowd, "Please get care of me!" .... he took a deep breath.** _

_**Some of them are confused looking boy and Minato but he gave them a hand signal to not comment.** _

_**"The important memories? This means that you can not pick yourself?" .... Shikaku commented.** _

_**Inoichi shook his head. "No, just the memories that Naruto-kun is considered to be important in his life."** _

_**"Any more questions?" .... said Minato.** _

_**"Not now." ..... Jiraiya grinned. "Let kick off this show!"** _

_**Shikaku and Inoichi worked in pairs. Naruto was sitting in front of Inochi, Shikaku clasped on Naruto's back of the head, and Inoichi put his hand on the forehead of Shikaku.** _

_**Naruto let go of memories that marked his childhood. Gossip about people on the street behind his back, cold eyes that they watched him, pushing from the store, inhibiting playing with him, loneliness and rejection of all from villages.** _

_** ** _

_**"Naruto where you come from?" ..... suddenly intervene Kakashi.** _

_**Naruto smiled: "Kakashi genius!" .....he looked at him with adoration on which mini Kakashi being confused and he keeps glancing at Minato, who nodded:"This is my Konoha ......" ....**_ **Naruto showed a picture where you could see the head of the** **seven Hokage carved into the rock above** **Konoha, and he fixed his gaze on the head of Minato**. ** _.Present have left one important fact, the rock was carved seven heads of Hokage._**

** _No one asked how Naruto showed seven, not four. To their mind, this picture was a mirage. They saw but did not respond. Why?_ **

_**The room was silence for a while, and then he heard a murmur.** _ _**"Minato what is all this nonsense, do you believe in this story?" ..... pick up a man who had the mark with Uchiha clan.** _

_**"Fugaku san, I called you here, because some things related to the Uchiha clan. You do not have to believe but leave the boy to show his memory." ..... Minato is a little raised his voice, to this Fugaku snorted.** _

_**"Um, Fugaku you're the father of Itachi and Sasuke, I'm glad I met you." .... Naruto suddenly turn to man.** _

_**"Sasuke?" .... the man was confused, but on seeing the boys note the pain in his eyes, "All right, I'll stay!"** _

_**"Gaki where is your respect for elders?" .... Tsunade said.** _

_**"Tsunade ba chan, I'm just a kid. I grew up in an orphanage. I did not have a grandfather for the Hokage." .... Naruto make the grin on his face.** _

_**"Tsunade ba chan ...?" .... Jiraiya gulped and he laughed: "Ba chan!"** _

_**Tsunade hit him on the head: "I do not need yours comments, idiot!" .... she looked to Naruto angrily.** _

_**Minato sighed: "Please, if you are searching for respect from the boys then you first give him respect." ... Minato side with Naruto on which he gratefully views.** _

_**"Child, what did you do?" .... were surprised reactions of their people from the village.** _

_**"I do not know! You are grown men, so I'm asking you." ... he said quietly.**_ _**"Do not worry, I've survived it all!" ... he looked at them with a dazzling smile, from which they felt even more embarrassed in front of him,** _

_**Then let the next memory.** _

_**Small feet became visible, wearing a blue ninja sandals and orange pants. He was a child, blonde with glasses on her head, in a black shirt and with a can of paint in his hand. The kid, no older than 10 years, laughing brightly. Several ninja was in pursuit of him.** _

_**"Is that you? What did you do, brat?" ....asked Jiraiya.** _

_**"Yes that's me. And I'm sure you'll be shown what I did." ....grinned Naruto.** _

_**"Why did you do such a thing?".....yelled one of them annoyed.** _

_**But now these four heads were variegated with in different colors. Every Hokage had a bloody nose and scars, with women painted eyelashes.** _

_**Jiraiya started laughing loudly, nearly falling out of his chair. Hiruzen immediately hit him on his head, making his student fall on the ground.** _

_**"From that reaction I'm assuming this happens all the time?" .....asked Minato amused.** _

_**"You managed to outrun chunin ninja from our village?".....asked Shikaku grinning. "Not bad."** _

_**"Now listen Naruto, you failed the last graduation test and the one before that. This is no time to be goofing off, you fool!".....Iruka yelled.** _

_**"You failed two times already?".... asked a sceptical Tsunade, Naruto is here flinched but did not comment.** _

_**"We will have a retest on the Henge no jutsu, even those who already passed will take it!".....the next scene.** _

_**First was a girl in a red dress with green eyes and long pink hair.** _

_**"Haruno Sakura." .....she presented herself. "Here I go… Henge." .....and with a sudden cloud of smoke she transformed into a copy of Iruka.** _

_**"Good." .....their teacher praised with a smile.** _

_**"Next, Uchiha Sasuke."......** _

_**He wore white shorts and a blue shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back. He also managed a successful transformation.** _

_**"This is Sasuke, my son, he looks more like a mom!" ..... Fugaku is slightly commented.** _

_**"Next, Uzumaki Naruto."........** _

_**"Uzumaki? I thought Kushina was the last…" .....Jiraiya muttered.**_

_**Blue chakra spun around him as he performed the jutsu and, with the trademark cloud of smoke, Naruto transformed into blond and very naked girl who blew a kiss at the poor teacher. Iruka's mouth dropped open and he was momentarily stunned, until what he saw registered. Then he flew backwards from the force of his nosebleed.** _

_**Jiraiya had the same reaction as Iruka, only with a perverted grin on his face:" It's brilliant!".... exclaimed Jiraiya while lifted from the floor.** _

 

**Ha, ha I can not believe that this Naruto did it. "..... Jiraiya laughed.**

**"What the hell is that?!"..... screamed Tsunade angrily.**

 

_**Naruto laughed outright:" How was it? I called it Oiroke no Jutsu !"......** **but the memories are still go.** _

_**"What I meant was… if you clean up this whole mess, I'll buy you ramen tonight."......Iruka said.** _

_**Stars appeared in the boy's eyes. "Yes! I'll finish it in no time, dattebayo!" .....exclaimed Naruto enthusiastically.** _

_**"Then why did you do that?".....Iruka asked the boy.**_

_**"Because I'll become a Hokage myself, and then I'm going to surpass all the previous Hokage!" ......Naruto finished that sentence by pointing his chopsticks at his teacher.**  _

 

**Iruka then said: "That's why he asked me to go on the ramen!"**

 

_**"Nice dream, kid.".....said Minato.** _

_**"A fool's dream.".....scoffed Tsunade.** _

_**"I don't want to hear that from you!"...... laughed Naruto.** _

 

**"He already knew everything about us. I have fallen into the trap!" ..... smiled Tsunade.**

 

_**"Now for the graduation exam, you will do the bunshin no jutsu. When you are called, come to the next room." .....said Iruka with a name list in his hands.** _

_**When it was finally his turn, his bunshin turned out to be dying." Fail!"......said Iruka.** _

_**"No offence kid, but that's the third time you failed the academy's graduation exam. You sure know how be stubborn, but are you sure you're the best person to have travelled back in time to help us change the future?" ......asked Shikaku sceptically.** _

_**"I didn't travel back in time on purpose. It was an accident!" .....said Naruto indignantly. "But does that mean you believe me now?"** _

 

**"I think it is now my opinion here very different."......Shikaku said.**

 

_**The Hokage nodded. "I believed you since the beginning. Inoichi's jutsu does not allow to show lies or fake memories. We would have noticed by now."** _

_**Next they saw Naruto sitting on a swing just outside the Academy. In front of the building, graduated students were celebrating with their parents. Miserable and lonely, he watched them.** _

_**Minato went to him and firmly gripped his shoulders."Do not worry, now I'm here!"..... he whispered to the boy's ear, and everyone on the scene were taken aback.** _

_**All present are now understood everything. The blond boy with blue eyes who looked like Minato and Kushina, he is their son from the future. But now more anyone could not understand why the boy was treated as unwelcome aphid in the village: "For God's sake, he was the son of the Yondaime Hokage! What happened in the future?"** _

_**"Minato" .... call him Kushina pale face: "What's going on?"** _

_**"Kushina, I'm sorry I hid this from you!" .... he paused and shook shoulder even more of Naruto: "This boy is our son, who came from the future!"** _

_**"Our son ... future ... Naruto!" .... she murmured.** _

_**The room was silence when her long red hair under chakra lifted into the air hovering around her like storm waves on the stormy sea.** _

_**Her eyes flashed and sparked "Naruto is my child!".....her voice boomed like thunder.** _

_**Storm tornado blew through the room to a sudden stop when the mother hugged her child. Naruto was thrown with the force of stormy wind and his mind disappeared** **into a whirl.**_

_**"Thunder and lightning, Minato you're in big trouble!" .... Jiraiya chuckled.** _

_**"Damn, Minato with the two of them your life will be hell." .... Tsunade muttered.** _

_**"Well, Yondaime Hokage all lucky that you are very quick. I can see the Yellow Flash of the Leaf." .... Fugaku smiled mischievously.** _

_**Minato ran a hand over the back of the head and bowed his head toward the audience, "Do not you worry, I'll deal with the two of them, probably, I think, oh my Kami." ... he sighed and hugged two beings who were in world of powerful storms.** _

 

**Jiraiya and Tsunade were there had watery eyes as well as Kakashi.**

 

_**"Naruto!" .... call him Minato: "Nar ..." .... he looked into his eyes which were dull.** _

_**"Minato ...." .... voice of Kushina was in a panic: "Do something, please!"** _

_**Minato closed his eyes and moaned softly: "Inoichi ...." .... he invited him to approach them.** _

_**He looked young blond man with a somewhat sad eyes: "Yes, Yondaime Hokage!"** _

_**"Please ...." .... Minato could not say until the end, but the man knew what he seeks from him.** _

_**Inoichi put his hand on the forehead of Naruto and for a while he strained his mind but Naruto's brain was completely empty. "I'm sorry Minato, his mind is completely blank. Probably too much of a shock!"** _

_**Minato held Kushina in the arms while she cried: "I'm sorry Naruto! In general I did not think about your feelings, I'm sorry!" .... she said through sobs.** _

_**Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head hard and dissolve the present: "When he recovers, you will be notified!"** _

_**They are present only nodded sadly watching the young couple and the blond boy who was supposed to finally be happy.** _

_**Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Tsunade were left in the room.** _

_**"Minato sensei!" .... him called Kakashi.** _

_**Minato turned to him with a slight smile: "Kakashi ,you'll have your hands full. Here I want your full presence."** _

_**Mini Kakashi nodded and added, "If you need anything Minato sensei, give me a call!" ... on which he smiled: "Hey, Kakashi ..." ... call him before he will leave the room "** _

_**Take care of my son when all this is over. ".... mini Kakashi waved his hand and left the room.** _

 

**"Minato Sensei!" ..... Kakashi groaned: "I will keep my word!"**

 

_**Minato took the boy in his arms and laid him on the bed and cover: "I'm sorry, I forgot you were still a child. This knowledge must really that you hit with considering what you've been through. Your father Yondaime Hokage, Konoha no Kiiroi Senko , of his son made to be Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. What kind of disappointing, is not it Naruto? "..... gently passed his fingers through his blond hair:" I'm sorry Naruto! ".....his tears roll and fall on the boy's face.** _

_**"Minato" ... Kushina looks at him puzzled: "What do you want to say ..... do not tell me that he was .... Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, so .... why?" ....Kushina moaned.** _

_**"I do not know Kushina .... What happened on day when he was born? .... How nine tails ....." ..... he stopped abruptly and looked toward Kushina.** _

_**She looked at him in surprise. 'Nine Tails ... ".... she put her hands on her belly," Minato .... ".... she suddenly turn white in the face.** _

_**Jiraiya jumped: "He is Jinchuriki!" .... exclaimed loudly.** _

_**"Yes!" .... Minato said quietly.** _

_**"How do you know?" .... Jiraiya questioned him.** _

_**"At the hospital, when I gave him the blood on his stomach was visible sign of Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, probably nine tails helped in his healing, because I was able to see this seal." .... he explained .** _

_**"Well, I mean when he was born, you are ...." ... Tsunade is not finished.** _

_**"Yes, the two of us, we die!" .... Minato completed her sentence.** _

 

_" **Yondaime Hokage, found another boy far from Konoha. He is unconscious! It seems to me that the boy lost his memory, because he did not know where it is!" ..... Anbu quickly notice Minato, while another member of Anbu team wearing boy covered with a blanket and came into the room: " Well, for secrecy, we covered him with a blanket, because it seems to me ...." ... Minato quickly reach the boy and took off his blanket with him: "Very well done!"**_

_**"Put him on the bed next to Naruto." .... she quickly ordered.** _

_**"I want to Anbu team comes here!" ..... addressed Minato two, from Anbu team.** _

_**"Yes, Yondaime Hokage!"....they disappear from the room.** _

_**"It's become quite interesting!" .... Jiraiya murmured.** _

_**"The two of them together come from the future, he is a boy from his memory that we've all seen. Sasuke Uchiha!" ..... Minato looked toward Hiruzen.** _

_**Tsunade quickly began to examine the boy's body: "It's hurt and he's starved and he's got a broken arm, probably from the fall to the ground, during the flash which we were present when we found Naruto." .... she gave a report after preventive examination.** _

_**The room came all members Anbu team.** _

_**Boar-Masked Anbu, knelt in front of Minato: "Yondaime Hokage, all members are present!"** _

_**Kakashi, Yūgao Uzuki with a mask that looked like a cat with three red stripes - one vertical stripe on the forehead and two horizontal stripes, one on each cheek. She also wears the standard Anbu uniform, consisting of black and gray armor, metal arm guards and a katana strapped to her back. She has the signature Anbu tattoo on her right shoulder.** _

_**Itachi Uchiha who wore a standard Anbu uniform complete with arm guards and flak jacket, and a porcelain mask which was fashioned to resemble a weasel with a red, triangular marking on top.** _

_**Minato called the Guard Platoon which included Raido Namiashi, Genma Shiranui and Iwashi Tatami.** _

_**"I'm sorry, but the three of you will be their special guards. I want them to be controlled 24 hours without a break." .... Minato turned to Kakashi, Itachi i Yugao: "I want you to be on full alert the next few days." .... he ordered all of them:"Dismissed!"** _

 

**"Sasuke and Naruto, what is the connection between them before and now?" .... they all asked.**

 

**_Sarutobi Hiruzen was an old man, a veteran of all three Shinobi World Wars, the student of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage's. That was a fact no one could or would even dare to deny, he'd been Hokage for so long not many could match him in his time in service. Because of that, his experience was vast and reaching far beyond many. It was because of that long time in service as a Hokage and as a shinobi that he'd bore witness to feats and scenes that defied all logic and understanding. Besides the current Tsuchikage that is._ **

_**Like the legendary rivalry between his sensei Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, a rivalry that led to a battle that was still spoken of in legends. A battle between Gods among Shinobi! He'd bore witness to the sheer raw destructive power of all the 9 legendary bijuu's and how powerful and vicious they could be. After all most were utilized in the wars he's fought and knew how useful they were in battle as super weapons of war.** _  
_**He'd seen the weakest of them, the Ichibi reduce an entire mountain into nothing with a single Bijudama. And he had even seen a single man and his late successor, Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage, in a few seconds flat lay waste to platoons of Iwagakure Shinobi in the Third Shinobi World War. It had come at a cost of course, Minato had spent his chakra pool to its limit and lost half of his life force as a result. But it was because of that slaughter the Third War ended in Konoha's favor because of Minato's actions.**_

 _**So one could say Hiruzen had seen it all, everything that defied all logic and all things he had come to know. He'd figured he had come to witness everything life had too offer because of that, but it seemed he was proven wrong. Very wrong, when not a week ago he'd witnessed an incident that shook his whole world.** _  
_**And that was the mysterious "Konoha flash" as it was being called now.**_

_**It had happened a week ago but because of that incident alone it sent everything into a frenzy. Which put him on edge more than he would ever admit. He gave his full support to Minato. He knew that this event can change many things. He had full confidence in Minato that he will know to choose the best way out of this mess.** _

_**Kushina was sitting in a chair next to the boy, and she held his hand. Her round blue eyes stared into three thin lines on his cheeks with an expression of deep emotional concern for his welfare.** _

_**'' Will he ever wake up, Hiruzen sama. '' .... Kushina said quietly and Hiruzen had to hold back to not jerked as if she had just slapped him.** _

_**Kushina was paid to him in a respectful way that is not good for him suspected. It is usually called him an old man, in the same way as the boy she held his hand.** _

_**'' I ... I honestly do not know Kushina. I think he just needs to rest, he will wake up at the end. '' .... he said, patting the young girl on the shoulder that showed little visible reaction nod.** _

_**She squeezed the boy's arm and she could feel the rhythm of his heart through contact. It was her relax and she made a sigh of relief, the heat of his touch was enough, her son was alive.  
** _

_**She waited for his blue eyes glow, "Minato, we will protect him, right?"  
** _

_**Minato had great twinkle: "We provided another chance to get to know our son. Of course, that I will do everything that he never felt alone." .... he embraced Kushina and stroked the boy's cheeks.  
** _

_**At that point Anbu brought another boy and he had to leave for a moment Kushina.  
** _

_**When the other boy placed next to Naruto she had a smile: "Second chance for all of us!" .... caught and squeezed the hand of another boy.  
** _

_**The first is from the unconscious out Sasuke who screamed because it hurt the hand that was in a cast, and so he received the infusion.** _

_**The girl with fiery red hair and violet eyes stopped him to get up. "Do not! You need a rest. Everything will be fine!" .... he looked at her gratefully.** _

_**He turned his head to look at who lies to him and quietly gasp: "Naruto! Wake up!"** _

_**Naruto was still lost in his own world. Sasuke looked at his pale face and wide eyes that were dead.** _

_**"Naruto, for God's sake, wake up! Do not leave me alone!" .... he shouted: "You promised me you were going to wake up. Dobe, wake up! I'm sorry that I ....! ".... tears ran down his face:" If you do not wake up immediately, I will kill you now if I had not .... "..... Kushina listened he says as the others who were present.** _

_**"Tame, fucking hell, stop yelling at my ear, I woke up. Idiot!" ... he yelled at him.** _

_**"You idiot!" .... Sasuke snorted.** _

_**Kushina bounce and embraced strongly Naruto: "Thank Kami, Minato he woke up!"** _

_**Minato was next to his bed, and hugged him, and he said, "Welcome back!"** _

_**Naruto asked quietly: "You are really ... really my parents!"** _

_**"Yes, we're your parents Naruto!" .... Naruto was again shocked but now the feeling that he could not show before erupting in unlimited quantities.** _

_**Sasuke watched the scene,: "It is really your father!" .... Sasuke murmured softly.** _

_**Naruto hugged them both: "Mom, Dad ... finally, my wish came true!" ... the others in the room could not hide the tears.** _

_**"Mom, Dad ...." .... he paused and looked at them as if they asked for permission to also be addressed, as Kushina says: "If you, you do not call your mom, you'll have to deal with me . "..... her red hair start the hover around it.** _

_**"Mom, Dad, this is my best friend Sasuke!" .... Naruto with a smile looked at Sasuke who by that view looked down.** _

_**"I'm glad Sasuke Uchiha!" .... said Minato.** _

_**In the background heard a faint moan but they do not hear.** _

_**"Gaki, who now has a father for the Hokage, not a grandfather.!" .... smiled mischievously Tsunade.** _

_**"Tsunade ba chan!" ....cried Sasuke: "You're here!"** _

_**"You two really deserve a good beating!" ... her eyes flashed while she watched them.** _

_**"Hai, Tsunade hime!" ... both answered, as she slowly exhaled: "Now everything is ok!".....she said with a satisfied smile on her face.** _

_**"Sasuke, welcome!" .... greeted him Hiruzen Sarutobi.** _

_**"Old man, you're alive .... of course he is alive ... we are in the past!" .... Sasuke murmured.** _

_**"Damn, I feel that we have a lot of fun." .... Sasuke turned toward the voice, "Jiraiya sama!".... he exclaimed.** _

_**"Sama, did you hear ba chan:" .... in the next moment they heard the shot, moans and dull fall to the floor: "Idiot!" .... and angry voice of Tsunade.** _

_**"Yondaime Hokage!" .... called mini Kakashi Minato: "They are here!"** _

_**Sasuke's eyes wide open looking at the boy with silver hair and a mask, "Kakashi sensei!" I'm sorry!" ... said quietly.** _

 

**"Sasuke, why is he apologizing?" ..... Kakashi wondered.**

__

_**The boy with a mask turned to him but there was only a deep sigh beneath the mask: "Sensei?" .... his voice was surprised.** _

_**Minato went to the door and opened it. Came into the room Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha what Sasuke remain in shock.** _

_**"Mom, Dad ...." .... he whispered and Naruto that grabbed his hand and shook him vigorously.** _

_**She quickly went to the bed and gently hugged him. Sasuke let out a groan and hide his head between her breasts:** _

_**"Mom ..." ... he whispered softly.** _

_**Beside him create his father, who gently slipped his fingers through his black hair and whispered, "Welcome my son!"** _

_**Sasuke at the word replied Naruto with a strong grip at what he just smiled and silently thought: "I'm glad Sasuke!"** _

_**"I'm sorry Naruto, Sasuke, but we need to know something about the time you are coming from." .... Minato said.** _

_**"Dad, I think you're very impatient, but that's all right!" ... Naruto smiled to his father.** _

_**"Naruto ...." ... Sasuke looked at him, puzzled.** _

_**"Do not worry Sasuke, they will us a peek into the mind.!" ... he said** _ _**"Everything will be clear soon." .... he looked at him archly: "Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku have glossy jutsu."** _

 

**"Glossy jutsu.!".....two of them shake their heads.**

 

_**"Do you understand now, Tame!" .... he said.** _

_**Minato made barrier.** _

_**Inoichi Yamanaka explain Sasuke as his jutsu works and Sasuke nodded that he understood.** _

_**She murmured something under his breath: "Gaki he was recovered beside you. Well, the interesting thing."** _

_**Sasuke and Naruto are placed side by side.** _

_**"Naruto, we will first start of Sasuke, and when we get to where we left off with you, we will get back at you." .... explain Inoichi** _


	47. KONOHA INTELLIGENCE DIVISION 2

**Sasuke memories**

******The boy went to the very end of the village, where his clan lived. He stopped and stood, about a hundred feet from the beginning of homes belonging to his clan. He saw several people from his clan, lying in the street,** **silent and immobile. The blood from his wounds dyes the ground in an ugly sepia color. The boy, although scared, he continued forward.**

 

_**Mikoto and Fugaku gasped loudly: "For God's sake, who could do something like this?"** _

_**Naruto shook his hand, and he returned his grip. Others did not comment, but had all the pale faces.** **After the preliminary shock all the scenes of blood and gore that surrounded him terrified of the thought ran through his head.**_

 

**'Mom...Dad!'....the boy was running was fast as his legs could carry him now, hoping to get home in time.**

**Hoping he wasn't too late. He prayed that his parents would be there, welcoming him home. He ran with all his might, but once he stood right outside his door, he froze.**  
**He was scared at what he would find if he opened that door. Scared that he would walk right into his death. What if the killer was in his house right now? But he pushed those thoughts to the side, anxiousness taking over him. He fumbled with his keys, and they dropped to the floor. The boy's hands were shaking now, and it seemed like a struggle just to pick his keys up off the floor. It seemed like ages before he actually got the door open. But he managed it. He turned the doorknob, and pushed open the door.**  
**He remembered, opening the door , only to find Itachi standing over the bodies of their parents. The older boy was standing above his own parents, and it took the younger boy a few seconds to realize what was going on. His parents were dead. And the one who murdered them, along the rest of the clan, was the twelve year old prodigy of the clan, Itachi Uchiha. ** **His brother.**

 

_**"This is can not be true!" ... Fugaku said a broken voice.** _

_**"Itachi!" ... a woman moaned painfully and Mikoto is here faints.** _

_**"Sasuke .....!" ..... Naruto whispered and it tears streamed down his face, "I'm sorry, I did not know!"** _

_**"Dobe, thanks but this is not all!" ... Sasuke said with hatred in his voice.** _

_**His parents looked for him when they saw that he had the Sharingan. Inoichi for instant fit hit the amount of hatred that came out of the boy: "For God's sake, he's just a** **child!"**_

_**Others were tense and did not comment. Minato jumped to another boy from Anbu team and firmly held.** _

_**Tsunade helped Mikoto and they laid her on the bed. "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm sorry Dad, but I was not really able to do anything." ... Sasuke for a moment closed his eyes.** _

 

**"Hello, Sasuke." ...he said, smirking, his teeth exposed.**

**Sasuke tried to solicit help and comfort from Itachi.**

**Itachi walked over to his brother, letting the knife leave his hands. It hit the floor with a thud. Itachi opened his eyes, which were still red and crazy.**

**"Why are his eyes red? ".....Sasuke thought.**

**Then, a terrible realization hit him hard.:" The Sharingan!! "**

**"The clans highest ability, the Sharingan...allowing one to do amazing things with their eyes alone.".... Sasuke almost forgot that his brother had that ability.**

**"Foolish little brother.....Mangekyou sharingan! "....h** **is brothers eyes caught his. Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan using Tsukuyomi** **, ability ran through every cell in Sasukes body before a numbness hit his head. His brother then forced an image into his brothers head. He was forcing the image of his dead parents into his younger brothers mind.**

 **Sasuke pleaded for an explanation, to which Itachi replied:"** **So that I could measure my "container"!"**

**This response Sasuke loses control and attacks Itachi but Itachi was stronger.**

**"The reason why I continued to act as the brother you desired was because I wanted to verify your Container.....you will become my opponent, as the one who will confirm my container.....you detested me and held a grudge against me,you continuously wished to surpass me and that's why I will let you live FOR ME.......you closest friend.....you must....KILL HIM.....just I did."......... Sasuke could not believe that his brother killed Shisui .**

**Itachi explained that Sasuke, as he then was, would not be worth killing only by becoming stronger, such as by acquiring his own Mangekyō Sharingan, could he prove a worthwhile challenge to Itachi's abilities.**

**Before leaving, Itachi encouraged Sasuke to hate him, to desire revenge, and to gain power from that:" Foolish brother if you want to kill me,then blame me! Hate me! And live in shame....run..run..cling desperately to life ....THEN ONE DAY COME BEFORE ME WITH THE SAME EYES I BEAR NOW!"....** **.and with those words, Itachi left his frozen brother by himself.**  

 

_**At this point in the room that no one moved nor uttered a single word. Their faces are was reflected horror.** _

_**"Why?" ... Jiraiya. "His own brother!"** _

_**Inoichi was again stopped and asked the boy: "Sasuke you want to continue?" ... he nodded.**_

_**"I want you to know this, if I can save my brother ... the clan ... mom, dad .... I can go ahead. ".....N** _ _**o one of them could not** **comprehend nor the others in the room: "What could make Itachi at this act?"**_

 

 **Sasuke stood there, in front of this terrible massacre, for two days straight. He just stood there, not sleeping or even blinking. He had suffered such a terrible shock that he would never fully recover from it. That's when someone stumbled into town, and realized what happened. It was reported to the Hokage, who sent men to search the area for survivors. The team who found Sasuke told him he was so out of it when the found him that when they carried him away all he did was cry pitifully. It took a whole week afterwards for him to even start speaking again.**  
**But he still cried. And each time he cried, his brothers words burned into his ears. At first, he decided to not listen to them. If he killed his brother, he would be as bad as him.**

 **It was at his parents funeral when he snapped. Sasuke cried uncontrollably. He got on his knees in front of his parents coffin and cried for ages. He hadn't fully realized until now that he would never see them again.**  
**And that's when he realized that the one who killed them should suffer. At that point on, Sasuke understood his goal in life. To kill his brother.**  
**And slowly, from within the depths of his mind, his world stopped ending. The sun had finally come out, and drenched the whole city in light. In warmth. He could not stop wailing. He could not stop crying. But his heart was still healing. He became a normal boy, longing for his parents. Longing to once again smile amongst the pain and suffering and hurt. And he was getting there. He heard another voice, just as soft as the girl's.**

 

_**Naruto ,Sasuke hugged tightly, "Tame, I'm sorry I did not understand, but how could I when I did not know this. I won't leave you, Sasuke. I' am right here.".... said the loud, annoying blond.** _

_**But he was no longer loud and annoying, but gentle and soft. Just like the girl was. Only then did the dark eyed, formerly emotionless boy realize he prayed that he would not leave him. Prayed for him that he should stay with him. The blond boy patted the black-as-night haired boy on the back, and asked him if he was ok.** _

_**"Dobe, I think that coming here was the best thing that could happen to us. We can save the future." .... Sasuke leaned his head on his shoulder and quietly wept.** _

_**"Two boys tied destiny, returned to the past that they change. One boy who had nothing, shunned by all, without hatred, and others who had lost everything, with hatred. The coin with two sides, Ying and Yang, their fate is ultimately the same.".....Hiruzen Sarutobi, a wise old man watched two boys gently.** _

_**Jiraiya thought: "Crying yourself to sleep at night, isolating yourself from the rest of the world, training until your veins screamed, until your blood boiled with pain, until the tears and blood mixed so that you couldn't tell which was which, so that you couldn't tell which boy was which....that wasn't normal at all."** _

 

 **The tears flowed now, revealing the tortured boys soul. Revealing the mind of the tortured boy. He held the flowers tighter, and the thorns dug into his hand. But he did not wince, for the pain from the thorns on his hand was nothing compared to the thorns around his heart. He got on his knees, sat in front of the tombstone, hugging it, crying on it. If it was any consolation to him, well, then at least his parents were under that tombstone.**  
**And holding on to it forever might make his parents underneath realize that they had a son waiting for them to come back. Waiting for them to open their eyes. Waiting for them to hug him, hold him.**

                                                               

_**Fugaku approached Sasuke and Naruto stepped back.** _

_**The man knelt in front of him and took him in his arms: "I'm sorry you had to go over all of this, but now ..... I love you, my son!"** _

_**Sasuke grabbed father frantically: "Daddy, save Itachi, there is still time"** _

_**"Sasuke!"...walked over to the boy with a mask.** _

_**He removed the mask from the face and softly moaned: "I'm sorry!"** _

_**"Itachi!" ... Sasuke hugged strong brother: "You do not have to apologize. You're not the same now as you in the future. I love you Itachi all my heart and soul."** _

_**"Yondaime Hokage ...." .... quietly Fugaku.** _

_**"Do not say, I know!" ... Minato hugged him.** _

_**Mikoto get up out of bed, walked over to the two boys and strongly embraced them: "We'll try, I promise!" ... her eyes took on determination.** _

_**Inoichi and Shikaku stood aside reasoned: "What happened to Konoha in the future? Are you still there?"** _

_**Third Hokage was thrown off balance: "Uchiha massacre ... while I was Hokage, that shame and humiliation, why I as a Hokage was nothing I could do!"** _

 

_**"Why?" ...... present heard the whisper of Hiruzen.** _

 

  _** Naruto memories  
** _

_**Naruto continued on and was seen searching through scrolls. He found the right one and left without anyone noticing. He quickly went to a hidden clearing in the forest and opened the scroll.  
** _

_**"Let's see… the first skill is… Kage bunshin? What the hell? Why does it start with one I'm bad at?"  
** _

_**"Are you going to try and learn a jutsu from that scroll? Kage bunsin is a dangerous technique." ....said Minato worried.  
** _

 

 **"The only scroll that has that jutsu in it is the forbidden scroll. Why would you take it?"..... asked Hiruzen.** _**  
** _

 

_**"It's explained later on." ....Muttered Naruto.  
** _

_**"Naruto, don't give him the scroll even if you die!" ordered Iruka. The man was bleeding from various wounds. "That is a dangerous scroll that had forbidden ninjutsu sealed within it. Mizuki used you in order to get his hands on it!"......shaking, Naruto stood up.  
** _

_**"Naruto, there is no point in you having it. I'll tell you the truth."......Mizuki shouted.  
** _

_**"The truth?".....Naruto was confused  
** _

_**"No, don't!"...... screamed Iruka desperately.  
** _

_**"Twelve years ago… You know about the demon fox being sealed away, right?"..... taunted Mizuki. "Since that incident, a new rule was created for the village."  
** _

_**"… A rule?" .....asked Naruto.  
** _

_**"But Naruto, this rule was never meant to be told to you.".....Mizuki chuckled.  
** _

_**"Not to me? What is this rule? Why?" ....asked Naruto, frantic:" What kind of rule is it?" .....asked Naruto again with wide blue eyes.  
** _

_**"The rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the demon fox."..... Mizuki sneered at him.  
** _

_**"He's not the fox, only its holder." .....said Minato with a strong voice.  
** _

_**Naruto sighed relieved and smiled at the man.  
** _

_**The room again silence occurs and all looked in his direction.  
** _

_**"Minato, do not tell me that your son is the holder of nine tails?" .... Fugaku exclaimed in surprise.  
** _

_**"Yes, my son is a jinchuriki . I found out occasionally blood transfusions ...." .... there Minato paused and looked first at Kushina, and then to Hiruzen.  
** _

_**They stare and nodded: "It's time to find out the truth!" ... Kushina said quietly.  
** _

_**"For this he knows only a couple of people .... my future wife is also Jinchuriki of nine tails but as she moved to my son, I do not know ..... on his stomach is the seal of the Uzumaki clan, which means that I was had a role in the by sealing nine tails in my son. As we have seen, my son has grown up alone. During his birth, something's gone wrong. Nine Tails was free ..... I do not know .... obviously I think I, Kushina did not survive .... ".... Minato stood in front of those present pale face.  
** _

_**"Mom, I have to ask you something!" ... Naruto suddenly spoke to the surprise of others.  
** _

_**Kushina looked at him and it in his eyes, on the eve of the death seriousness: "Ask, my son!"  
** _

_**Still present were silent and listened carefully following the words of the boys, "Mom, you're wearing nine tails as well as me. I talked to nine tails ...." .... that all remain surprised, "Nine tails?" .... .mam said.  
** _

_**He talks with nine tails, it is impossible! ".....cried out in surprise present.** _

  _ **"When we arrived at this time, the two of us, we have made peace for mutual benefit. If I die and he will die. Survival by mutual agreement and understanding." ... Naruto gave them a lesson.** _

  _ **Minato and Kushina looked ravishing in a boy: "Ask!" ... Kushina smiled and took him in her arms.  
** _

_**"Dobe, um, I do not remember you being so wise before!" .... Sasuke commented.  
** _

_**"Tame, maybe I have a dual personality." ... make the grin on his face, as Sasuke snorted:" You idiot!"  
** _

_**"Nine tails, he told me that I pressed my hand on your stomach, and that he would show what happened on the day I was born." .... he said softly, "Inoichi."  
** _

 

_** Memory  
** _

_** ** _

_**The first image was that Kushina gives birth to the little boy.  
** _

_**"He was born here!" ... Minato said with tears while heard a baby crying in the background:"I am from today, Dad".  
** _

**_"Naruto ... finally I can see you!" ... she gently told the child that was next to her, while her Minato held for her hand: "How do you feel Kushina '" ... wondering_ **_**mildly:"Thank** **you!".**_   

 

_**Attendees had smiles while Minato, Kushina and Naruto cried.  
** _

 

_**"I know you've been through childbirth but now I will completely seal the nine tails." .... just when he put his hand on her belly in the background could be heard the noise and commotion.  
** _

_**Attendees one by one fell on the floor.  
** _

_**While Minato looked puzzled what was happening he saw a masked man with a cloak and hood on the head: "Yondaime Hokage, walked away from the Jinchuriki, otherwise in the minute end up the life of this child.  
** _

_**At that point he began to weaken the seal of nine tails and Kushina was in pain. Minato is frantically turned to her But the masked man pulled out a kunai and held it to the neck of the child and on the way he said: "Do not you care what happens to this child. Get away from her!"  
** _

_**The masked man then threw the child into the air and began to strike him with Kunai but Minato prevented him from taking the child in his arms. The masked man was laughing, because in the next moment the boy's blanket in which he was wrapped appeared explosive paper. Minato rejected blanket and jumped out, leaving her alone with masked men.  
** _

 

 **Everyone present went with one voice, closing the mouth of their palms: "For God's sake, who is this masked man. How could he get past the guards?" ... thought Hiruzen and Minato .**  

 

_**Kushina was taken by a masked man who has prepared a place for drawing nine tails out of her.** _

_**The next scene was when Minato used Kuchiyose no jutsu** , **and asked Gambata for a moment to stop nine tails** **as he was preparing to teleports he released Kushina. When he released her, took her to Naruto and both moved away from the village. When nine tails came to the same place for them Kushina made a barrier and twith he chakra chains she captured nine tails.**_

_** ** _

_**"I am going to draw the Kyubi in...and kill myself...that way...I can put off the kyubi's resurrection. That is the only way the last of my remaining chakras can be of help to you....Thank you for everything," .....on these words Minato answered her:" Kushina...you...you made me the Yondaime Hokage...you made me a man!..and you made me this child's father!!... and yet.."  
** _

_**"Minato don't look like that...I am happy..you love me and It is his birthday today and most importantly I think abaut what our life would be like...together..if I lived I can only picture happiness...if there is one thing...i regret it is that i won't get to see...Naruto grow up..."  
** _

 

_**We must not allow this to happen again. I can not!" ... Minato cried with her.  
** _

_**Naruto although he was sad, he had a smile, because now he knew that his parents loved more than anything.  
** _

_**Minato thought and then said, "Kushina ... there is no need for you to die with the Kyubi. Use your remaining chakras so you can be reunited with Naruto .."! I will seal your remaining chakras inside Naruto with a hakke Fuin. Then I will take tht kyubi down with me ... since I am not the host I can use Shiki Fujin .... "** _  
_**There's one more thing...I can only seal half the kyubi's power...it is just not physically possible to seal it completely...it is not strategically feasible, either if you take the kyubi down with you, there wont be a host until the kyubi is revived and the biju balance will be thrown out of whack. With shiki fujin I can seal half the kyubi's power forever and the other half....I WILL SEAL WITHIN NARUTO; WITH HAKKE FUIN!"**_

_**I known what you want to say but Jiraiya sensei talked abaut the coming revolution nad the catastrophes that will come with it! The maske man who attacked you...he will bring catastrophe upon us! And this child is the one who will stop him as the host, he will clear the way to the future. Have faith in this child! After all he is our son!!** _

**"Damn Minato, my words will come true!" ..... Jiraiya suddenly stood up: "A child of the prophecy is this child in front of us ... Naruto .. your son Minato! For God's sake, now I know why you did this. You believe in my words, most of them in it. You laid your life for all of us and for a better future for these children. Minato ... I am proud of you as your teacher, friend and you gaki .... ".... Jiraiya comes to Naruto and hugged him:" Thank you! "** _**  
** _

_**"Well, I have not done anything yet!" ... Naruto suddenly turns red before their eyes, rubbing the back of his head with his hand:" Do you perhaps do not you exaggerating?" ... Naruto said quietly.  
** _

_**Kushina was in pain watching the Minato to make the seal:"After I use the Shiki Fujin...I'll seal your chakras inside Naruto. You won't get to see him for very long, once he is grown up.....but I want you to help him out when he tries to control the kyubi as its host."  
** _

 

_**"But he is our son and I don't want him to bear that burden and why the Shiki fujin ...just..so I can see him whwn he is grown up? And it wont even be for that long...there is no reason for you to die for that." To preserve the balance between the bijus...? For our country...?Our village...?There is no reason to sacrifice Naruto for that, you shouldn't sacrifice yourself for me!".....Kushina had tried to dissuade Minato of the plan but could not  
** _

_**"Abandoning one's country...abandoning one's village...that is the same as abandning one's child. As someone whose country was destroyed, you should understand that best, shouldn't you? You know the harsh life that awaits those without a country...besides we are a family OF NINJA'S...and even if I were to live, I could never compare to you...even if just for a short time..there is something you can give him as his mother that I never could, that is mother's role. I am not doing this just for you, I am doing it for Naruto! I am willing to die for my son...that is my role as his father...".....Minato was adamant in his intention.  
** _

_**"Damn you Yondaime Hokage!"...Kurama said.  
** _

_**"Seal Kuchiyose no jutsu!** **Ok, now for the hakke fuin I ' ll seal kyuby inside Naruto!".....Minato explained**_

_**** _

_**"That is a ceromonial pedestal! Does he mean to seal me away again? In that child?".....Kurama there was rampant.  
** _

_**Kushina was bleeding and her chakra is decreased. Minato worried about her, and he jumped to help her.  
** _

_**At that moment, Kurama moved his claws towards Naruto, but both are parents jumped up and fight against the nine tails to kill Naruto.  
** _

_**"...I told you...this is something even a father can do."......Minato was in strong pain.  
** _

_**"Then... a mother would be even better right".....Kushina had a smile.  
** _

_**"All right, this is first time i have ever lost argument with you...that is how i know...you must be serious...... Kushina said:"Thaks Kushina."** _

_**"Whoa! The kyubi...Yondaime what are you doing"....Gamatora said.  
** _

_**"Gamatora I am giving you...the key to the seal, I want you to take it to Jiraiya sensei.....and immediately store it inside him...".....Minato issue a command.  
** _

_**"I have the key, so now I will go"....Gamatora disappears.  
** _

_**"Kushina jou are not going to last much longer.....I'll give .....I wont to seal a little of my chakras inside Naruto as well, you wont see him for a while so tell him anything you want to say now"......Minato alert, Kushina that their time is about to end.  
** _

_**"Naruto...don't be a picky eater..eat heartily....so you grown big and strong, take a bath every day and keep warm.....and do not stay up late get enough sleep and make friends you do not need a lot but just a few true friends you can really trust and i was never good at it myselef..... but study hard and practice your ninjutsu but everyone has things they are good at and things they are not so if you have a hard time do not let it get you down......respect your senseis and senpais at the academy..... oh and one more important thing about the three ninja vices......be especially cereful whwn lending or borrowing money and save the money you earn from missions ......and dont drink until you are 20......and drinking too much is bad for you so take it easy.....and as for women......I am a woman so I dont really understand, but anyway there are only men and women so you will find yourself interested in women.......find woman like your mom and speaking of vices one more thing watch out for Jiraiya sensei** _  
**Naruto you will face many painful times and hard times but just be yourself and have your dreams and the confidence to make those dreams come true I really..... wish I could be there to teach you so many more things......i really wish i could be with you longer i love you ......Minato I am sorry for talking so much...."**

 **"No it is all right , Naruto as your father I'll just second everything your chatty mom said .".......he said,"Hakke fuin"!**  

_**"Mom, Dad ...... do not worry, I do not blame you. You did what you had to. Dad do not know, but in this memory that showed it is evident that there is a reason why you shut me nine tails. "  
** _

_**"Naruto, but it's my fault ....." .... Naruto interrupted him: "Dad, I told you that I do not blame you. You had reason to believe that you .... probably is your reasoning exactly ... we do not know what will happen. As you believed in me, I will believe in you. I'm still your son. As for Kurama, I hope that I will somehow get away with him. Probably. ! '** _

 

 **"Um, Kushina, thanks as I was in your mind at the end!" .... murmured Jiraiya.** _**  
** _

 

_**"But I want to know who the masked man who has sharingan. There is no doubt that in our clan but who? I thought it was Madara but he can not be alive. No way! I have a feeling that somehow with what we have seen associated with the massacre of our clan going to happen a few years later. "... Fugaku was thinking out loud.  
** _

_**"What we have seen from the memory place of birth of the child was under guard by Anbu team. Someone who knew all about Kushina and nine tails. But with this we can deal with that later. Hiruzen and Jiraiya have all this written down and saved in the scrolls." .... Minato stopped for a moment: "We forget one thing, if they came from the future there is a chance for them to return there. We can not be sure how long they will be here."  
** _

_**"Somehow I do not think they came here by accident. They are reasonably returned at this time. Well, now I can think of an idea. If they come in the past there is a chance that maybe others come or if they come back in the future they again to return to the past. The question is how do we recognize the time travelers. ".... Minato thought.  
** _

_**"Hiruzen Sarutobi sama, should have a kind of scroll which would have access to the arrival of passengers in time, because he has the longest title of Hokage status.." .... Tsunade said, "I think I'll work on that, the space time jutsu . "  
** _

_**"Kyuuubi!".....Minato was surprised.  
** _

_**"Yondaime Hokage!" .... they heard a deep voice coming from Naruto who had red eyes:"** **And as for your 'explanation', you didn't really think Kyuubi is my name, did you?" .......Minato gulped and slowly nodded his head for a "Yes'."**_

_**"**   **This memory I showed you just so you do not even think you put me in him. Damn Minato your son is a nightmare, and Kushina, why do not you make friends with my other me. ".... Kurama groaned."Minato , for God's sake, spare me!"**_

_**Minato was confused. "Um, Kurama, I'll do my best!" .... he cocked his head slightly to the side and looked at Naruto: "You'll be all right, my son!" .... on his face show smile.  
** _

_**Others could not believe that the Kurama spoke of Naruto. "Is it possible that we were all wrong as far as the tailed beasts?"**_

_**** _

   


	48. KONOHA INTELLIGENCE DIVISION 3

**In the room was a long silence while they are present, try to put your emotions under control.**

**"Sasuke and Naruto already once been in the past, huh?" .... Kakashi tried to think but could not after all this took place in front of them.**

**Before them there were more questions, and all of them seemed to have fallen into the abyss from which it will not easily come out.**

**"So this is how it all happened. Itachi your story and they agree. The masked man is the main character in this story." .... Jiraiya first to start conversation.**

**"It means Naruto going to the Root, it was his idea, because in his time he was not there." .... Asuma said.**

**"They really were able to stop the attacks and run them on their behalf. They seemed to change events in the past!" ..... Shukaku said.**

**"Hiruzen, thanks to them you're alive. I have to be grateful to Naruto who saved Lee of Gaara! " .... Might Guy. "Yes !! This is what youth is all about!"**

**However Hiruzen did not hear him, because he was deep in thought. They did not bother in his thoughts.**

**"Naruto has lived a hard life, but his smile never disappeared from his face!" .... Kurenai will quietly whisper:"We are really all wrong when it comes to that child!"**

**"No wonder he chose Root for the option, with respect to us he had learned nothing, not even from you Kakashi. Jiraiya was the only one who showed interest in him." ..... Iruka was furtively looking to Kakashi on what he winced:" And my behavior only deepened his decision to go to the Root, because he could not stand it that he again passed the same treatment from all of us".**

**"The two of them accidentally ended up in the past because of the explosion, but now they came to their decision. Perhaps they do not have the memory that this has happened. And their mind is probably under Minato jutsu." .... Inoichi sighed.**

**"But why is Minato done that we forget the case .... we are able to act preventively as now they do." .... Hiruzen was roused from his thoughts.**

**"If they happen to come in the past .... who knows what might have happened along the way, because Minato did not do anything wrong, given that he had the most reason to change events." .... Itachi said, grim faces:" "But we unlikely do not know, because the rest of the memory is erased. I wonder why .... why he left partially memories. Did he knew that this could happen? .... Valley of the End is key. I have a feeling!"**

**"Valley of the End....Valley of the End....".....thought Hiruzen:"  .....explosion threw them in the past ... they did not even exist in our time .... it is possible because they did not disrupt the flow of time....two identical person can be present at the same time in the same place....." ....Hiruzen was thinking out loud:"....what if they chose to return to the time when the event took place.....maybe on the way something happened as before.....a** **t this time there are Sasuke and Naruto, but what if the soul of them moved Sasuke and Naruto from the future in our time, and their bodies were elsewhere ....it may be advisable to repeat this test after the event.....".....Hiruzen spoke slowly and they have carefully listened.**

**"You want to say that Naruto and Sasuke from our time have souls and memories of them from the future." ..... Asuma said.**

**"Where would then their bodies could be?" .... Itachi thought.**

**"Maybe we returned from the future at a specified time but two of them have gone deeper into the past ....." .....Shukaku has joined the conversation:"Maybe occurred Dimensional overlap between time and time, or space and space, or space and time ...if there is something in this, it would be good to look after the play event. Probably Minato wanted to avoid complications, because we are on shaky ground but left part of memories to warn us. "**

**"Now they have come back in time with the intention and with the permission of, maybe this is a chance for them and for us. Valley of the End, perhaps is the real key!"**

**"Someone deliberately left a gap in spatial temporal barrier." .... Hiruzen said a worried voice:"In the meantime we may discover facts that were previously unknown to us."**

                                                                          


	49. CHUNIN EXAM FINALS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nine Jinchuriki together

 

**The day before the finals**

 

**Hiashi Hyuga, a proud man who openly believes the Hyuga is the strongest member of Konoha, he is also very honest, as he believed hizashi should have been the clan's successor after seeing Neji's pure talent and potential far surpassing both his daughters'. Also having great humility, Hiashi began to have doubts of the clan's caste system after the noble sacrifice his brother made.**

**From the memories that have seen Knowing of Neji's animosity towards the Main House for its treatment towards the Branch House, soon after Naruto Uzumaki made Neji question his choices in life, as the one who instilled Neji with such anger, Hiashi decided to make amends with his nephew and openly chose to train Neji and the Hyuga clan's full arts.**

**Also, as this was considered a taboo to pass down secret techniques to the Branch House, this showed Hiashi to have become much more lenient and is not as strictly devoted to traditions, now desiring to end the rift within the clan, thus somewhat merging the two houses.**

**He decided to show the letter left by the father of Neji. Hoping to correct Neji's misconceptions, he explains the truth surrounding Neji's father's death: that Hizashi chose to die not in service to the main house as Neji has long thought, but because he wanted to protect Hiashi, his brother; in doing so, Hizashi selected his own fate.**

**Neji does not believe the story since he's only hearing it now. Hiashi, having expected this and having no further proof, bows to Neji and begs his forgiveness for not telling him sooner and he handed him the letter that his father left before his death.**

**Neji is moved to tears by the gesture and bids Hiashi to stand, finally believing him. While watching the birds outside, Neji decides he'd like to choose his destiny just like his father did, and that he wants his destiny to be to never lose again.**

**Neji remembered the words that to him addressed Naruto, "Neji, you idiot!" .... Naruto yelled loudly. "Hinata was not guilty of anything! Nothing is certain. The destiny can be changed. You're an arrogant idiot. Who gives you the right to, you rise above the rest. Get out of the cage of hate.".....he was there asked: "How is Naruto knew? Who is actually Naruto ?''**

 

**Neji encounters an unknown blond girl**

  ** **

  **That night he went outside to meet with Ten Ten and Lee. He saw Naruto from far away and decided to follow him, but lost him in the crowd.**

**Going through the park on the bench he saw a blond girl sitting alone and pensive. He had never seen before. I noticed the reflection in the form of tears on her face.  
**

**"I'm sorry, are you lost?" .... he approached her and spoke to her.**

**"I lost my friends in the crowd and can not find them." ... he heard a quiet, gentle voice and he is meets with the bright shining overlooking coming from the heavenly blue eyes.**

**Neji did not know what happened to him but he could feel his body heat overtakes and he was losing his breath.**

**"Can I sit next to you?" .... he said with a voice that trembled, as she nodded and she moved to sit next to her .**

**Naruto noticed that he was followed by Neji and wanting to know why, he turns into a girl. Mai, fox spirit, enhance the magnetic attraction with Naruto that he was not aware.**

**Neji and beautiful blonde girl in a short period of time they were talking as if they know each other for years. Here is Naruto learned of the letter, and he was glad that Neji found his way.**

**Not one knew why everything he said to the girl, but he felt subconsciously that he can trust her.**

**In parting girl kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, gently leaning on his body. "I will see you tomorrow and cheer for you!"**

**Neji is still after that remained seated on the bench with a smile with red cheeks:** **"Hu, I did not ask her for the name!" .... he loudly said, and he began to laugh out loud, while Naruto watched him hidden behind a tree trunk.**

**Itachi did not believe his eyes who watched them from the treetops.**

 

**Gara and Kazekage visiting Naruto and Sasuke in apartment**

** **

  **Naruto left Neji and returned to the apartment with a smile.  
**

**"Something good happened?" .... Sasuke came just before him in the same mood.**

**Before he could answer they heard a knock at the door. The two of them looked at each other and Naruto went to open the door.**

**Naruto cried when he saw Gaara at the door: "Gaara you come at the right time!" ... Naruto hugged him.**

**"Hi, Gaara I hope that everything is okay when you're here!" .... Sasuke cried like Naruto, then both remain confused.**

**Besides Gaara stood grown man. They were left confused, because they knew him from the future and did not know how they react.**

**"This is my father Rasa, fourth Kazekage!" ... present him Gaara.**

**"I'm glad to meet you!" .... Sasuke first came to his senses, he said, and bowed.**

**"Gaara ...." .... Naruto is still standing confused.  
**

**Gaara walked up to him and whispered in his ear: "It's all right!"**

**Naruto on that smile, sparkling blue eyes looked up at the Rasa: "I'm very glad to meet you!" ..... said and he bowed.**

**Itachi and Kakashi lying on the roof confused: "Kazekage came to visit them?"**

**"Please do not stand at the door, come in and you behave as if you were in their own home!" .... Naruto said letting them forward, while Sasuke led them to the kitchen.**

**Kazekage has not commented on anything, just watched them.**

**Naruto is given to fixing dinner while addressing Kazekage: "Conversation is a better guide when the stomach is full."**

**"Gaara, you're right. Now I believe!" .... Rasa whispered softly not letting him out of sight.**

**" Father! ......Kazegake!".....Gaara and Sasuke will with one voice bristling.**

**"Um, is something wrong?" ..... Naruto turned to them and look at them quizzically."Dinner will be ready soon!"**

**"Nop, it's all right, just my little joke!" .... Kazekage said with a laugh.**

**Dinner was soon on the table and they enjoyed every bite.**

**"Naruto, any praise, long since I have not eaten anything so good!" ..... Kazekage was happy while Naruto blushed: "Nothing special! I love to cook."**

**"Naruto, Sasuke I have to thank you!" .... he bowed to them at the table: "I'd probably made a mistake that was not you. I am pleased that Gaara has for friends, you two."**

**"No problem, Orochimaru has made a lot of damage, I've heard many stories while I was at the Root about him. I'm glad you listened to Gaara."........ Naruto said happily. "I hope that the Suna and Konoha strengthen connections."**

**"You're probably right. It's time to forget differences and move in a new way. On you, the young people remains a future." .... Rasa took a deep breath."Time to go!"**

**"Please, it's late already, stay with us tonight. The apartment has room for everyone.".....Sasuke offered.**

**They accepted the offer and stayed the night with them.**

**Kakashi and Itachi are thinking: "The two of them have made more benefits in a short period for Konoha, nor Hokage for his mandate."**

 

**A day that will be remembered in the history of Konoha**

  

**At last day of the final was there. The whole Konoha was on his feet already in the early morning. All present chunin, jonin and Anbu team were in their positions, because the expected arrival Kazegake as well as other important personalities from the world of Shinobi.**

**Konoha is believed that it has the impenetrable protection in case someone attacked from the outside during the finals, but no one even in his sleep he did not expect the arrival of Nine.**

**Sasuke and Naruto were the same dressed. Tight black pants, a black vest with short sleeves, under which they wore chain mail is a type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. Naruto on his back wearing the katana, while Sasuke on a belt behind his sword. Sasuke had a black arm guards that cover his forearms, black leather holster shuriken, and black leather boots shinobi as Naruto. For the belt had a small backpack that is imbedded scrolls and various weapons.**

**Naruto on his back was a sign Uzumaki clan while Sasuke wearing a sign Uchiha clan.**

**Passers-by watched them while they accompanied Kazekage and Gaara to the office Hokage and then they left with Gaara on ramen.**

**Kakashi and Itachi were satisfied with their appearance accompanying them from a distance. Through them to join Sakura in similar clothes but which was intended especially for kunoichi.**

**"Hokage, we have a problem!" .... In the office came a member of the Anbu squad.  
**

**Rasa was in talks with Hiruzen.**

**"What kind of problem?" .... he asked quickly.**

**"Nii Yugito a jonin from Kumogakure, Killer Bee shinobi from Kumogakure, Roshi a shinobi of Iwagakure, Han a shinobi from Iwagakure, seeking access to Konoha to speak with Naruto.". .... behind Anbu mask hides the pale face.**

**"What?" .... Hiruzen cried and he was like lightning to his feet behind the desk: "Bloody hell! Urgently find Naruto!""**

**Tsunade, Jiraiya as Hiruzen and Rasa were at the gate speed of light , looking at these 9 with disbelief on theirs face.**

**"We do not want any trouble but we just want to see and talk to Naruto!" .... said Yagura.**

**"Guys!" .... Naruto cried when he appears in front of them even though he was surprised when he saw them together, he wept:"For God's sake, we have not seen for a long time!"**

**All present were confused as they were observed in the arms and tears. Naruto is on his face had a dazzling smile, his eyes sparkled like sunshine and blue eyes were full of warmth.**

**"Hokage sama, they are my very dear friends. Konoha is the safest place now!" ... said Naruto and deeply bowed: "On my responsibility allow them free passage in the Konoha."**

**"All  in one place, Akatsuki does not know what they missing ...." .... Itachi laughed under his breath behind the mask.**

**Hiruzen could do nothing to say but just nodded his head while he thought to himself: "And like that anything we can do against them! I hope that Konoha survive."**

**All participants felt that between them nine there are is an unbreakable bond, that with nothing can break.** **But the connection between Sasuke and them is the same unbreakable but no one could figure out why?**

****"We will talk after the final. You are all welcome at my house!" .... Sasuke said, relaxed and happy.** **

****Sakura was quickly accepted by them and Kakashi that he did not know why?** **

****Konoha was stunned as they watched a group of very strange shinobi but those who knew them in their faces was fear but seeing Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and others with them the fear is gone.** **

 

**Stage**

 

**Arena was packed with people, all who were able to come were there, all who were off duty were there. Kazekage and  Jinchuriki were in the lodge of the Hokage under surveillance of Anbu members. Jiraiya, Tsunade and all other available junin were in different positions in the arena.**

**Itachi and his team were responsible for monitoring Konoha. On the field where the battle will take place were present finalists. Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and there was silence.**

**Hiruzen was long regarded present in the arena, and then he looked down at Naruto.**

**"Naruto Uzumaki step forward!" .... and repent him and Naruto obey him confused.**

**"I want you to all of you listen carefully to what I'm going to say. Naruto Uzumaki is the son of Minato Namikaze fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki kunoichi of Konoha."......the arena was created rumor, because many did not believe and were confused.**

**Neji and rest of his peers were surprised but the next thing to say Hiruzen will be even greater surprise that will leave them speechless.**

**" Kushina Uzumaki kunoichi of Konoha was the second jinchuriki of the nine tails. Naruto was born on the night of October 10th, night when Konoha was attacked by nine tails. At his birth unforeseen difficulties nine tails was free. Since the Nine-Tails' chakra was too immense to seal into an infant, Minato sacrificed his soul to split the fox's chakra and half, sealing the Yin half within himself and the Yang half within Naruto. After telling Naruto how much they loved him, Minato and Kushina succumbed to their wounds from protecting their son from the Nine-Tails and passed away.**

**Born child was handed over to my care but I made a mistake. I wanted to protect Naruto from external enemies, because Minato has gained many enemies in his life but I did not expect that the whole village will be against him.".......in the arena came dead silence and Hiruzen paused in speech." Naruto, I'm sorry! I hope you'll forgive this foolish old man." .... he bowed.**

**Naruto was confused, surprised and he could not hold his tears.  
**

**When he scored, proudly raised his head and said: "Old man, you're not guilty of anything nor my parents .... thanks to all that I am today what I am. Will of Fire is transferred to me from my parents . I'm not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That's my Ninde: my ninja way! ".....his words are echoed like a bell in the silence of the arena.**

**"Sasuke Uchiha, step forward!" .... Sasuke stood next to Naruto.**

**"I'm sorry I was weak and I did not manage to stop the massacre of the Uchiha clan, Danzo was faster." .... he then addressed Sasuke who was like Naruto.**

**"Hokage sama, You do not have to apologize, I have no aspirations against you or Konoha! Will of Fire is passed on to me by my brother Itachi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.** **"**

**When he mentioned Itachi Uchiha and Will of Fire many have asked, confused. "What does he want to say?"**

**"Finally, I want to welcome everyone and I hope you enjoy the final exam."......Hiruzen Sarutobi came down on a chair and breathed heavily.**

**From the lodge of the Hokage could hear the winding by Jinchuriki.**

**Present were still under the impression words of Hokage and here in the arena a miracle happened. All attendees who were from Konoha were raised to their feet, bowed and they all said, "We are sorry!"  
**

**Sasuke and Naruto make the Seal of Reconciliation!**

 

**CONTEST**

 

** Neji vs Naruto **

****

**Neji and Naruto stood opposite each other make the seal of confrotation. Participants were equally cheered. They heard the story of Naruto, but they knew that from Hyuga clan all good fighters.**

**Hayate Gekkō gave the signal to start the fight.**

**Naruto then started performing his favorite seals. “Shadow Clone Technique"**

**Naruto yelled as 10 of his own clones appeared out of nowhere surrounding him. Five of the ten clones launched themselves at Neji in a close hand combat situation, while the other five and the original Naruto stayed where they were, waiting, watching and analyzed their opponent's strengths and weaknesses.**

**Using his Byakugan, Neji was able to avoid all of the kicks and punches aimed at him from the various clones. Though fast, the clones were still holding back a lot of their true speeds; they were only testing out the extent of Neji's ability after all, and they saw no reason in revealing their own trump cards so early in the fight.**

**Jumping up, away from all the clones' barrages, Neji did a somersault in mid air, over all the blonde heads, and landed several feet away from the two groups of Naruto.**

**“Even though the Byakugan cannot tell the difference between a clone and the real entity because your chakra has been divided evenly among them, but I can tell you this now:" Victory will be mine; you're only prolonging the inevitable.” ......Neji drawled in an arrogant and cold voice.**

**“Whatever!”...... yelled most of the Naruto, and this time, seven of the clones launched themselves at Neji, while another three prepared themselves by performing seals, leaving one Naruto standing by the side and watching all of them.**

**Noticing the change from defensive to offensive maneuvers from the extra clones, Neji decided to stop playing around with them. Waiting for the first two clones to reach him, Neji ducked underneath both their punches, twisted his body as he crouched, and slammed both his palms into the chest of the clones. Both clones disappeared into puffs of smoke straight away. Swiping the next incoming clone off his feet with one sweep of his leg, Neji quickly disposed of it by crushing another palm into the forehead of the clone.**

**Rolling backwards onto his hands, Neji pushed himself up, off the ground into the air, narrowly avoiding two kicks from two more Naruto clones. While still in the air, Neji rotated his body around in a spin. Pausing mid way through his spinning movements, Neji suddenly lashed out with both his legs outstretched, smashing into the chests of the two clones that had aimed kicks at him from before.**

**Landing lightly on both his hands and feet, Neji paused for the moment, he waited for two clones behind him start an attack. Finally seeing the two clones moves using his Byakugan, Neji quickly reached back, grabbed onto their hands holding protruding kunai just before they struck his back. Pushing backwards rapidly, Neji bashed his bent elbows right into the Naruto clones' faces. Releasing his grip on their wrists, twisting his feet and turning around, Neji crushed both his open palms onto the chests of the two clones, resulting in both disappearing into smoke. Now, seven of the ten clones had been dealt with, which only left three more clones and the real Naruto.**

  **“Lightning Shock Paralysis!,”..... yelled one of the four remaining Naruto as he finished his seals.**

  **This Naruto readied himself into a defensive, taijutsu stance, placing his hands out in the open, in front of him.**

**“Katon: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.” ....yelled another of the four remaining Naruto as he completed his seal.**

  **This Naruto took a deep breath and quickly blew out a giant fireball aimed at Neji who stood only several meter away from the blast.**

**Throwing a control-enhanced shuriken into the fireball just released, a third Naruto “Shuriken Shadow Clone technique!” .....with this act resulted in the sudden appearance of hundreds of burning shurikens all at once, swirling through the air in constant motions.**

**Neji gazed silently at the incoming fireball as well as the hundreds of burning shuriken's all heading his way. Knowing he couldn't hold back, lest he suffered an injury of two, Neji immediately launched himself into the Kaiten :** **“Hand of the Eight Divinations: Heavenly Spin!”..... Neji called out as he started spinning his body while releasing chakra from all of his opening points at the same time.**

**The Kaiten performed by Neji effectively neutralize the giant fireball that had been aimed at him by one of the four Naruto remaining.**

**With the Gokakyuu no Jutsu rendered useless, it was easy picking for Neji to deflect the burning shurikens in the same manner. Upon contact with the Kaiten, many of the shuriken clones also puffed out of existence, due to the stress of combating the chakra force field in the first place. Even though they were chakra-enhanced shurikens, but these enhancement of control didn't let Naruto have any other effect except control over their movements and directions, not their life expectancy.**

**Once all the shuriken clones were deflected out of existence, Neji easily caught the original shuriken, which had already ran out of flames and threw it towards the last of the four remaining Narutos, who had not yet entered the battle.**

**The last Naruto figure, who had stood impassively as he watched the other three Naruto attack Neji again and again, watched the incoming shuriken with a glazed expression on his face, just before the shuriken made contact and slice into his face however, Naruto quickly reached up and caught the single shuriken firmly between his two fingers and thumb, still eyeing Neji with a cautious stare.**

**Naruto blinked back to reality only to realizes Neji had abruptly ran towards him in the short amount of time he had been day dreaming. Being in such close range already,**

**Naruto had no time to evade and no way to block the attack effectively. Neji, taking his chance, punched brutally into Naruto's stomach, forcing the breath out of him. Naruto choked out some blood, dropped the shuriken that he had been holding in his hand previously and glared at Neji with all his worth.**

**In the background, two of the clones,the one who created the Gokakyuu no Jutsu, and the one who formed the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu disappeared into clouds of smoke.**

**"To be distracted while in battle… It's one of the most basic mistakes that any Ninja could do. As I have said before, victory was mine the very moment I've been chosen to be your opponent." .....Neji sneered cruelly as he stepped back from the crumpled form of Naruto.**

**Naruto continued to glare at Neji while he continued to choke out more blood.**

  **Taking a deep breath, he forced out three words through his clenched teeth: "Don't underestimate me..." .....and with that, he too, disappeared into a cloud of smoke.**

**"WHAT!! A BUNSHIN!!"...... Neji realized too late as he quickly reactivated his Byakugan of which he had disabled when he believed he had taken out the real Naruto.**

  **Once the Byakugan was activated again, Neji saw that his opponent was directly behind him, already pressing a palm into his back.**

**Unable to dodge, Neji quickly tried to create a chakra barrier on his back pushing chakra out of the Tenketsu - opening points - that are located on that part of his body to prevent any major injury from happening.**

**However, to his continual horror, Naruto's palm bypassed his chakra barrier as it is made out of chakra as well, anything made out of chakra can easily be bypassed or destroyed using chakra.**

**Neji released his chakra from the opening points located on his back to create a barrier. Naruto's palms are now infused with chakra, converted into lightning or electricity, so his chakra covered hands can bypass the barrier and enter the very Tenkets that Neji had used in the first place and smashed brutally against his body.**

**The momentum and the force of the strike flung Neji forward violently. Landing roughly on the hard ground and dragged some meters, Neji's body shuddered against the forced entry of an alien chakra into his own inner coil system, disrupting his own chakra control and electrifying some of his organs.**

**Blinking his eyes open after a short moment of dizziness, Neji gave Naruto his best glare with a hint of fear and confusion in them.**

**"He anticipated that I would be suspicious of any outstanding clones and so, he purposely created a clone to stand out, luring me into a false belief that it was the real him. I don't know what kind of attack he used on me but it's very similar to my own Jyuken style, only this own doesn't have to attack the Tenketsu (opening points) to be affective. In fact, as long as he can touch any part of my body, I would sustain damage. It's truly a deadly attack.".... Neji analysed quickly as he remembered Naruto's previous move.**

**But that was all that Neji concluded. Before his eyes gets dark and fall to the floor.**

**Naruto knelt down next to him and pulled out the metal needles and stood away from him, arms crossed over his chest:"** **You do not know that I am an expert in the use of senbon, used to strike acupuncture points."**

 

**Hayate Gekkō publish: "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!"**

 

**"Uh, what happened? .... Impossible ...." .... they were all amazed and confused.**

**Sasuke explain Kakashi: "You did not even notice when he used the Scroll of Seals!"**

**"Henge" .... Naruto cried and the whole arena filled with blond girls who were sitting on the knees of visitors.**

**Arena was plunged into uproar. Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and others who have not fallen under the impression blond girls shaking his head.**

**Neji came to himself lying in the lap of a blonde girl who looked at him with a mischievous smile.  
**

**"What happened?" .... he said looking at her.**

**"Neji, ninja must always be prepared for surprises!" ...... girl disappears in a cloud of smoke.**

**"You're a unpredictable ninja No. 1!".......Neji was shaking his head.**

**" That's me ! " ....** **Naruto came up to him, shook his hand, which he accepted and Naruto drag him to rise from the earth and he said to him: "Look around you!"**

**Neji still could not figure out what was going on but when all the girls disappeared in the form of smoke in the arena, Naruto transforms into a blonde girl only for a moment.**

**Naruto smiled, hugged Neji and said, "I like you!"**

**Neji slightly blushed, smiled and said: "I like you, too!"....and make the Seal of Reconciliation!**

**This was created pandemonium in the arena and the arena erupted applause and cheering.**

**Other finalists are agreed between ourselves and everyone gave up: "We do not believe that the two of them we can win today."**

 

  **Haruno Sakura and Dosu Kinuta**

 

**"Okay! Match Two, begin!" ......Hayate yelled as the audience quieten down to watch this match.**

**Naruto and Sasuke are closely watched Sakura.**

**They stood facing each other. Each knew of the other's weaknesses and strengths, but how much the other had improved during the one-month period was still a mystery.**

**"Let's see."....... Sakura took a few seconds to remind herself of her opponent's fighting style and techniques from their previous battles:" This guy is mainly a close combat specialist. As long as he is within range, he can use that odd metal thing to attack my ears with sound. There's no way for me to block that type of attack so I have to stay far away from it. Not to mention, I can't see the sound waves so he could theoretically control it through the air in every possible way and attack me from any angle. I can't do what Shikamaru did last time, by taking over his body and control it as I wish, but I can hide myself so he can't find me! As long as he doesn't know where I am, he can't hurt me.".... thought Sakura resolutely.**

**As if waiting for a hidden signal, both Sakura and Dosu suddenly launched into their battle plans. Sakura finished a set of seals in record time and called out: “illusionary Replication Technique!”**

**Instantly, four other Sakura appeared out of nowhere, two in front of the original and two behind. Straight after that, the real Sakura continued with another set of seals. This time, it was the Invisibility genjutsu. Her body quickly started fading out of existence leaving behind no trace of her.**  

**Dosu, on the other hand, had quickly pulled up his left arm's large sleeve to reveal a second odd-looking metal device. Raising his left hand up, in front of him, Dosu used his remaining right hand to make a concentration seal. Closing his eyes in focus, Dosu summoned forth a new technique. Immediately following that move, a deep humming sound was emitted from the metal device as the sound waves traveled out in a sphere like direction towards all angels from the epicenter of Dosu's original location.**

**Sakura, hiding her presence with the invisibility genjutsu decided to just sit back a bit and watch what Dosu was up to. She made her illusionary clon launch themselves at Dosu; trying to trick him into thinking they were real and was about to attack him. However, to her surprise, Dosu didn't move an inch as the Illusion's punches and kicks all passed through him without incident. It was as if he knew they weren't real.**

**Changing her plans slightly, Sakura had her Illusions throw kunai at the still un-moving Dosu, when in reality she had been the one that had thrown her control-enhanced kunai following the paths that the Illusions would have thrown theirs.**

  **Dosu, as if sensing the real thing coming towards him this time, easily dodged the Kunai, still with his eyes completely closed. Confused, Sakura decided to weave her Kunai back in the direction of Dosu using her Chakra controlled strings, just to keep him occupied while she tries to think of something else that could work. Unfortunately for her, Dosu eyes still closed seemingly dodged the kunai a second time, and suddenly lunged towards her invisible location, rushing towards her at high speed.**

**In her panic and confusion, Sakura quickly jumped away, doing her best to avoid any sound attacks that he might have created if ever given the chance to be within range. As she jumped, she lost her concentration on the Invisibility Jutsu and so the crowd was astonished to see her suddenly appearing out in the middle of the air for no apparent reason. Knowing that her position had been compromised, Sakura dispelled all her previous Illusions since they weren't able to do anything in the first place. She also redirected her kunai at Dosu once again, hoping that she could get lucky had strike him down. What happened next surprised her completely.**

**Dosu raised his right arm's device (the same one he had used many times beforehand) and quickly released a large burst of sound waves towards the incoming Kunai. The waves of air vibration traveled through the air and impacted against the kunai like a wall or barrier, instantly halting their movements and somehow rendering them to drop down to the ground harmlessly.**

**"How?”...... Sakura was stunned beyond belief.**

**Some of her most powerful moves and it didn't even give him a scratch:" Impossible! How did he know where I am? What in the hell did he do to my Kunai??"**

**“Don't think you're tricks would work twice on me, little girl!”...... Dosu growled low in his throat as he glared at the pink haired girl. “I have been training intensively just so I could beat you and prove to your precious little Uchiha that he damn well better be prepared to face me!”.......he suddenly smirked and continued to threaten Sakura with a slightly insane glint in his eyes. “I don't really care if I become a Chuunin or not, but I will take my revenge on you and Uchiha! So be prepared to die! Once I'm finished with you, I'll start hunting him. I'll prove to you all what's my worth.”**

**Sakura shuddered at the intense maliciousness within Dosu's tone of voice. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. She really needed to defeat him.**

**"Obviously, you're an idiot. Orochimaru is gone.".......... she is thinking:"Calm Down Sakura!"....she commanded herself:" Let's think this through logically. He can sense what is an illusion and what isn't. How?".....her mind worked quickly as he could thank Naruto and his techniques." Sound! His attacks are sound! Of course! With his left arm thingy, he is able to emit a small humming sound or a super sonic wavelength in all direction. If something has mass or is solid, it will automatically repel the sound wave. And with his eyes closed, Dosu can pick up what object has mass and where it is from what he hears. It's just like how bats see in the dark, by emitting sound and when the same sound is reflected off cave walls and stuff, the bat automatically knows not to ram itself into the wall! That's how he was able to tell which are illusions and which are real!" _....._  Sakura thought to herself triumphantly.**

**Okay. Now for the other bit... How was he able to dispel my Chakra control-enhanced kunai? Think sound! Think sound! Aha! God! I'm a genius! He uses his Chakra to control the sound waves, right? Then he should be able to use the same Chakra to sever my Chakra from the kunai easily. What's made up of Chakra can easily be destroyed by placing Chakra into it, or in this sense, mixing the two Chakra signatures in mid air and severing my influence over the kunai. However, being unable to use the Chakra-enhanced kunai like I do, he simply drops them harmlessly onto the floor."**

  **"Oh! This is going to be fun ripping you apart!" _....._ he thought as he lunged at her once again.**

  **"Shit!"...... Sakura thought, jumping back and throwing four sharp metal needles at Dosu at the same time.**

**Her precision with metal needles was much more accurate than Kunai since Sakura had practiced continuously with their use during her one month training period. Even without consciously doing so, Sakura's aim was perfect in their execution, directed at vital points in the hope of stopping her opponent's body movements.**

  **Dosu managed to block two of her needles from piercing his chest but missed the other two that had stabbed into his thigh. Thinking that was all, Dosu tried to run after Sakura but suddenly collapsed as his legs refuse to hold up the rest of his body weight. Temporarily immobilized, Dosu frantically tried to reach the two needles still attached to his body, attempting to pull them out so that he can move his legs once more.**

  **Rushing at the now unmoving body, she pulled out four more needles and flung them at him, aiming at different place. After the first barrage, Sakura continued to fire needle after needle, all striking with meticulous precision at where she wanted them to land. She had aimed all her needles on all the important points within a human body. Some on the acupuncture points, some on the major veins and arteries, some on the Chakra inner coil system.**

**"Bloody hell, she's not normal!" .... Naruto yelled.**

**"You're to blame for this!" ... she cried and looked at him angrily."My mind is obsessed with needles!"**

**"Hmm, maybe I'm just a little gone too far!" .... Naruto did not say until the end, when she on him throws all other needles .**

**"For God's sake, you're not children anymore!"......Kakashi made barrier.**

**She looked angrily at Hayate and Dosu and moved toward them, "Okay, you want to still fight!"**

**"Nop" ... Dosu said.**

 

**Hayate Gekkō publish: "The winner is Haruno Sakura!"**  

 

**Shikamaru and  Temari **

 

**Fed up with her opponent's slowness as well the as the stagnation of this match, Temari decided to take things into her own hands.**

**“If you won't start than I will!” .....she yelled as she began running towards his location, ignoring Genma's call that he hadn't officially started the match yet.**

**Shikamaru sighed as the approaching Temari cut down the distance between them rapidly. Pulling out two Kunai with one hand and another kunai in the other, Shikamaru readied himself to take the attack. Temari jumped high into the air, pulling her massive fan over her shoulder and down, she slammed her weapon right where Shikamaru had been situated. A loud `bang' reverberated through out the stadium and smoke clouds covered the immediate area of the impact.**

**Once the smoke cleared, Temari's smirk also disappeared.**

**“You know. I don't really want to fight…” .....she quickly lifted her head and glared at the seemingly impassive, dull face of her opponent, standing nonchalantly on top of two of his kunai both stuck on the wall of the stadium.**

**“Hell. I don't even care if I become a Chuunin or not…” ......Shikamaru drawled out in a slightly uninterested voice: “However, a man shouldn't lose to a girl either.” ...Temari's glare intensified as her inner fury builds from listening to his sexist comments. “Well... I guess I will fight…”....... Shikamaru concluded to himself.**

**Unable to hold in her anger, Temari snarled as she quickly lifted her large fan off the ground, opening it to reveal all three `stars', she was just about to flail her weapon across in a semi-circle arc when Shikamaru suddenly detached another of his Kunai and threw it towards her direction. Reacting instantly, Temari released a huge gust of wind to stop Shikamaru's assault as well as to attack Shikamaru himself, all in one blow.**

**Shikamaru's kunai had easily been deflected by the windblast. Flung by sheer power of Temari's technique towards many different directions, following the wind's current, the weapon finally landed unnoticed onto the ground many metres away, onto the middle of the arena. It's tip stabbing upright into the hard sands below.**

**Temari's eyes continued to narrow slightly as she surveyed the area of her destruction, noting that Shikamaru had escaped, leaving only his two Kunai behind.**

**"He's fast at running away...".....Temari thought to herself sarcastically.**

**Behind a near by tree within the battle arena compound, Shikamaru watched Temari silently and thought to himself:"Damn... A man shouldn't hit a woman with his fists... but I don't want to get beaten up by her either..." .....sighing in exasperation, Shikamaru gazed up at the clouds hanging over the stadium longingly.**

**"I envy the clouds... They are always so free... Going anywhere they please... I don't know why I even try... It's not like I have any determination at all... I only became a Ninja because I thought it would be a simple and easy life...".......shifting his gaze, Shikamaru looked around the stadium floor, and finally found his third kunai, now stationed all the way in the middle of the arena.**

**Finally standing up from his crouching position, Shikamaru held a small smirk on his face."But... I guess nothing is ever that simple."**

**Infuriated at Shikamaru's dumb expression, Temari decided to wipe that smirk off his face.**

**“Ninjutsu: Whirlwind attack”.....she yelled as she swung her fan back and forth.**

**A large blast of swirling wind slashed across the entire battlefield, creating deep cuts and profound gashes upon the surface of trees as well as the stadium walls, lifting up sand and dust and blowing them all over the place, creating clouds of smoke to obscure any visibility.**

**After her assault, however, a thin strip of `shadow' - for that is exactly what its name recalls - emerged from the smoke cloud and climbs at rapid speeds towards Temari. Gasping slightly in surprise, Temari quickly pulled herself together. Realising that the `shadow' was Shikamaru's technique, she swiftly performed several back flips, neatly avoiding the `shadow' from touching her feet. Suddenly, the `shadow' stopped stretching and started receding back into the slowly uncovering dust cloud, revealing Shikamaru, still composed and not severely injured.**

**“Now I see”..... Temari concluded as she scrapped her fan across the ground, indicating where the maximum length of the shadow can be stretched up to. “I understand the secret behind the Shadow Copy Technique. There's a limit to the extent you can change the shape of your own shadow. No matter what your manipulation of your shadow is, it must still hold the same surface area as your original shadow. Am I right?” ......Temari inquired with a confident voice.**

**Shikamaru smirked in reply. “Yeah. You're right.”......he acted as if having his secret out was no big deal at all, which made Temari all the more suspicious and she took a few more minutes just analysing his technique.**

**"Assuming that he used the wall's shadow to help him extend his own shadow, no matter whether he is standing at the edge of the available shadow or right next to the stadium wall itself, his own shadow would have the same maximum length, which is 15 metres and 32 centimetres.".....Temari was sure of her calculations.**

**However, to her confusion, Shikamaru started making a strange hand gesture.**

**"It's not a seal! It can't be a seal! What is he doing?"......she thought to herself, slightly concerned as to what her opponent has up his sleeve.**

**Indeed, Shikamaru wasn't making any hand seal. It was his habit to use his hands to form a strange up-side-down circle, having all of his finger tips touching their counterparts and the thumbs touching one another, while he concentrate on finding strategies to help him during a tough battle. Usually, he only used this move when playing Go or Shogi against Asuma-sensei but this time, Shikamaru thought it might be good for him to just think before he act.**

**After a few more minutes of focussed thinking, Shikamaru finally released his hands from their strange positions and looked up at his opponent with a calm and determined visage on his face.**

**“Looks like you're finally a bit more motivated to fight.”...... Temari mocked with her still confident attitude at play.**

**"Finally. Let's get this battle started!"......** **Shikamaru calmly reached back to grab two more Kunai as Temari reinstated her assaults from before.**

**“Whirlwind attack!”......she yelled as released another large gust of swirling wind blades, cutting across the arena at full force.**

**Shikamaru dodged most of the blows by hiding behind another tree; he first took off his jacket and head protected, readying his Kunai in wait for the right opportunity to present itself.**

**“You can't hide forever!” .....taunted Temari as she performed Kamaitachi after Kamaitachi; just to discharge some of her anger and frustration that had built up since the beginning of this match.**

**Finally, tiring of all the useless assaults, Temari decided to stop attacking.**

**Immediately after she released her last Kamaitachi, a kunai was flung straight at her from Shikamaru's position, which was still obscured by clouds of dust and smoke. Slightly tired and gasping in surprise, Temari managed to dodge that kunai and opened her fan just in time to deflect a second kunai that had been aimed at her from a different angle.**

**Placing her fan back behind her, she was once again surprised at seeing Shikamaru launch his second attempt at capturing her with his Shadow Copy Technique."Stupid. As long as I'm behind the line of his maximum stretch length, there's no way he can catch me."......watching the shadow rapidly closing the distance between herself and it, Temari quickly reconsidered:"Wait a second... SHIT!!"........ Jumping backwards in shock and a little bit of nervousness, Temari gapping at how easily the shadow stretched across her line by a whole metre and a half, and almost reached her position. Still gasping at the realisation of her almost defeat, she glared at Shikamaru, clenching her teeth tightly in suppressed anxiety.**

**“Impressive. You were able to see through that move.”..... Shikamaru praised.**

**“I see. You took your time to wait until the sun went down. This is so that the surface area of your own shadow, as well as the shadow of the stadium wall, would increase, enabling you to extend your influence over a larger distance of land.”..... Temari listed as she analysed the new phenomenon.**

**"Calculating from the height of the sun and the last maximum length he was able to produce, there is no doubt that this new length is the extent of his ability.".... Temari thought to herself as she eyed the end of the shadow resolutely.**

**That is, before she was brought out of her musing by her younger brother shouting at her to look up. Gasping, Temari quickly looked up as her brother had commanded her to.**

**Above her, hiding behind the light of the sun, there seems to be a small black dot visible. "What's that?".... Temari thought for an instant before she remembered that this object, whatever it was, would most definitely have a shadow of its own. Looking down again, her eyes widened at the small round shadow that had developed within the distance between herself and Shikamaru's shadow, and its surface area was still growing.**

**"Oh SHOOT!"......iInstantly jumping backward to evade the newly enhanced Shadow Copy Technique, Temari tried to jump to the side to avoid the shadow, hoping that it would pass her by going straight.**

**No such luck. The `shadow' followed her resolutely, to the right, to the left, and always moving backwards constantly.**

**"Who would have thought?"..... Temari thought frantically to herself."That he would use his clothes as a parachute just so he could extend the uses of his shadow. Damn. Definitely a very impressive guy.".......she admitted silently to herself.**

**"If I had completely focused my attention on the parachute in the sky, then I would have lost my concentration on the shadow below. He left absolutely no room for me to evade!"......she calmed herself forcefully, analysing everything she had learnt over the past few minutes of the fight while still dodging the unrepentant shadow' following her. "But now it's very clear... the Shadow Copy Technique is simply a Jutsu that uses different shadows to trap their opponents."**

**Watching the shadow finally recede back from her new position much father away then her original resting place, Temari release her fan a short gust of wind followed the movement and placed it gentle behind her. She smirked at Shikamaru, hiding all of her other emotional states from his previous heart-thumping assault.**

**Shikamaru, on the other hand, frowned slightly. “So, she dodged that one too, uh?”**

**Looking back up at the slowly setting sun, Temari theorise to herself. "As long as this fight continues, the shadow of the stadium wall will expand, his own shadow surface area will also expand, and thus, his territory of control expands. Which ever way I see it, I lose ultimately."**

**Lifting her fan up again, she stomped it back down, in front of her blocking any weapons if Shikamaru even tried to throw them.**

**"I'll have to finish it in my next move."....she thought to herself resolutely.**

**"First I'll create a clon and let him think that it's the real me. Once his attention is distracted to the clon, I'll attack him head on."....glancing out from behind her fan, Temari watched as Shikamaru completely dissipated his shadow, Temari concluded that now would be the best time to attack.**

**Placing her hands together, she tried to complete her Replication Technique but found herself suddenly unable to move."WHAT THE!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!"**

**Silence reigned through out the entire stadium as everyone's attention was focused on what was happening within the centre of the battle arena. No one spoke, no one blinked, for they believe that if they blinked, they would have missed out on the action. And indeed, if they had blinked, they would have missed out the most important move that Shikamaru had done in the entire match.**

**Still stunned into silence and unable to move a single muscle in her body, Temari's mind ran up all the possibilities but came up with no solution"NO WAY?! MY BODY!! HOW!!??"**

**Unexpectedly, a nasal voice spoke up behind her, startling her out of her reverie. “It's about time. **Shadow Imitation Technique** , a success.”......the voice, distinctly belonging to Shikamaru, called up from behind her.**

 S **tanding up and then turning around stiffly as if she was a puppet simply following her master's move, Temari looked up in horror at the face of her opponent.**

**“But how!? Why!! How did you...”.....she couldn't comprehend how he had managed to get behind her when an instant earlier, he had been several meters in front of her.**

**She had made sure of it.**

**Shikamaru only smirked slightly in return. He bent down and picked up something from the ground, Temari followed the same move but in the opposite direction. As they both returned to their up right positions, she glanced at what he had pulled out off the ground in the first place. It was just an ordinary kunai, or at least, that's what Temari thought at first. Holding the kunai in one hand, Shikamaru used his other hand to peel a small black note from the handle of the kunai. Temari followed with the same ridiculous gesture, only she had nothing in her hands while he does. Lifting the note up, he displayed its written contents for Temari to view. Her confused expression was obvious as she gazed back at the strange design drawn on the small 10-centimetre by 10-centimetre sheet of black paper with white chalk writing on top.**

**“This is a neat little trick I learnt from someone, it's called the way of the shadows. It enables me to literally walk through shadows, like a special teleportation Jutsu. As long as I place one of these kunai with the special note attached at a certain shadowed area, and I myself hold on to another of these special notes, I am able to travel into one shadow and out of the other shadow. That's how I was able to disappear from there he pointed to the area of trees and reappear over here.”.... Shikamaru explained with a tired drawl.**  

**"Impossible! He threw this particular kunai right at the beginning of the match, when I first launched at him! You mean... All of those previous **Shadow Imitation Technique** was just a ploy to move me here right into this area! Just so that you could teleport yourself all the way behind me and use the Kagemane again!! ... This guy!? How many subplots had he hatched against me just to manoeuvre me right into this area!?"**

  **Temari was still too shocked to physically reply as she went through everything that had happened in her match again. “That's it! I forfeit this match.”.....she cried.**

**Hayate Gekkō publish: "The winner is Nara Shikamaru!"**  

 

**The Hokage, on the other hand, had a slightly stunned expression on his face."Shikamaru-kun... that move it is not a Konoha technique... in fact, no one in the Hidden leaf can do this technique."**

**Shikamaru raised his finger toward Naruto: "I did it!"**

**Kazekage glared at the undistinguished boy at the bottom of the arena floor."Even I... haven't been able to master that technique... through out history, only the Shadow Master Clans have been able to control such techniques. Even though the Nara clan is a very distant cousin of the original Shadow Masters, but there is no way that they could learn the original Shadow Master techniques, could they?"**

**“I have very little Chakra left after the continuous use of Kagemane no Jutsu through out this match. I won't even be able to hold you for another 10 seconds longer. I've come up with 200 more moves from here on out but it seems I've run out of time. It's just too troublesome anyway. One match is enough for me...”.....he replied, and then turned around, slumping his shoulders as he made his way to the stairs once more.**

**"Hey, Shikamaru!" .... she call him and when he turned, she said, "I like you!"**

**He turns red in the face and thought to herself, "Trouble!"......he wore a smile as she.**

 

**“Kankuro and Aburame Shino! Get down here now!” ......Hayate Gekkō invite the following competitors-**

**Kankuro called out clearly: “I forfeit!”**

 

**Hayate Gekkō publish:"  Winner:Aburame Shino!" **

 

**“Alright. Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara! Match Begin!”..... Genma announced loudly at the start of the match.**

**The two of them unanimously announcement: "We give up!"**

**Hokage and Kazegake are watching the next generation: "I hope that they will be more fortunate than we, the older generation."**

**"It is our duty to keep them out of the shadows!" ... Kazegake smiled: "Naruto is a mysterious creature!"**

**"And big trouble!" .... Hiruzen said with a heavy sigh to which he looked, and Hiruzen said: "Long story! Tonight you will hear the story that this might surprise you but it is important for all of us!"**


	50. PARALLEL WORLD, PROPHECY AND THE PROTECTIVE SEAL

                                                         

 

A **fter the celebration in Konoha Jinchuriki have joined Naruto with Sasuke in the apartment. Although it was a small apartment they all settled into it. Incorporating the barriers and the long-awaited meeting could begin.**

**Instead Naruto speaks Kurama!**

**Kurama accurately describe what happened in the future, and under which conditions they are were returned to the past.**

**"Hagoromo, the Sage of the Six Paths was no immediate requirement to our friends .... probably left them a choice that they decide themselves what to do. As I see all of you on good terms with them, which I find very pleased." ....**

**"Of course, now that we have chosen another way when you were on your example showed that it is possible to make contact with people for mutual benefit." .... Son Goku to join the conversation.**

**"We are to a great extent already changed the the past. From now on all we are on shaky ground. The problem is what happened in our return to the past, because I and Sasuke is not supposed to go back this far in the the past. Everything that happened so far Should not have happened."....**

**"The question is what will happen when the time is right, when we were supposed to go back, but that time is coming soon. The whole shinobi world is back at that time in the the past. How will this affect the past when it comes time to coincide?" .... .**

**"I have no more connection with my grandfather from a parallel world to ask for advice." ... that his statement them unexpectedly startled.**

**"You were in a parallel world? How?" .... all they want to know.**

**"Before I start my story how I got there in a parallel world, first I have to explain to you the words of my grandfather.".....**

 

** Parallel world......Uzushiogakure no Sato, Village Hidden by Whirling Tide **

  ****  

**"Parallel worlds exist and interact with our world. By chance we discovered anomalies in the space around our village. These anomalies are probably caused by our frequent use of seals that has required large amounts of chakra in fact energy. We have created a rift in space.**

**Our research this cracks, we opened the door and we found a passage that revealed the way to the past or the future,** **because they are not separated from the present. They are together and are connected.The secret was leaked and it was only a matter of time before we will be destroyed. We were able to see the past and the future that we did not like it. "......those were the words of my grandfather.**

**But the creation of these cracks, there was a disruption in the flow of time that caused the overlapping of two worlds at a certain frequency. This information has not been disclosed to anybody and it was a chance for us. We managed that in such a time switch complete our village and people with the help of technology seals in this parallel world. We have not made time travel.**

 

  **Prophecy**

 

**Village was known prophecy. The Uzumaki, being descendants of Asura Ōtsutsuki, also shared distant blood relation with the Senju clan. When Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki was still alive, Gamamaru apparently gave him a prophecy, stating that a "mischievous blue-eyed boy" will unite the tailed beasts and change the world for what knows and Jiraiya.  
**

**That one can govern with legendary beasts need a special life force, which gives tremendous stamina and chakra reserves, together with healing and vitality, which resulted in an extremely long potential lifespan. The leader of the village already knew that someone from his clan to fulfill the prophecy, but he did not know who and when , just after** ****Mito Uzumaki kunoichi who originated from Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki clan after migrating to Konoha, she married Hashirama Senju, the village's First Hokage, and later became the first jinchuriki of the Nine tails.** **

**Nine Tails was in the possession of Uzumaki Clan, the prophecy could be fulfilled. During that period, my clan was discovered way where they could see the past but also future. Although they have had access in the future did not know who this boy, because they never manage to see. In the words of my grandfather, I was under the protection of the gods all the time, but they did not want to miss anything.**

**The boy with blue eyes, he was unknown, because in our guild was not blue eyes. **They wanted to protect the holder of the prophecies in all possible ways. Insight into the future gave them a picture of my mother Kushina, who was pregnant with Minato my father, and he had blue eyes. All their hopes have decided to stick to my parents.****

**Towards the final years of Mito life, it was decided that a new host for Kurama would have to be found. Kushina Uzumaki my mother, one of Mito's clansmen, was then selected for the role due to her special chakra.**

**Clan members were in knowledge and technology advanced in the world shinobi. Their designation is knowledge.**

**Before the fall of the village of my grandfather Ashina Uzumaki sent my mother in the Konoha, and she wore a seal that was unique.** **The seal had protection for a child .**

 

  **The protective seal**

 

**Using the knowledge and technology they were able to seal the entire village and its inhabitants who were still in the country to switch in the a parallel world, leaving the apparent image of the village using the seal. Imaginary village is soon destroyed and Uzumaki clan has ceased to exist, except for a few members who fled from the village, who were hiding in the Shinobi world.**

**Despite all they have managed to make the last step before the fall of the village.  
**

**The last words my grandfather are: " Activating the seal soul should be returned to us. When we discovered a parallel world we left several identical the seal in different places within the village, the activation of the holder of the original seal it first switches to a place of the destroyed villages, and from that point to us in this world. The secret of the seal will go with me to rest. Naruto is the first and the last person to seal wear and lasts a lifetime. That's my gift to him "......  
**

**"What kind of protective seal and why?" ..... asked Son Goku.**

**"When me and Sasuke had a clash in the Valley of the End, we probably during fusion chidori vs rasengan made enough big explosion that made a rift in space. The two of us ended up in the past, before our birth..... Long story!.....but it is important what happened at it. When White Zetsu wanted to take over my body as I lay unconscious, seal is activated and my soul transferred to the first place where they were the remains of the village, and from there to a parallel world.**

**The soul is pure energy, the light, the body is like a torch that sheds light on all side.**

**"White Zetsu .... what his role was, why?"......asked everyone.**

**"That's a question I can not answer because I do not know. The answer to this question did not know my grandfather. ".....**

**How is it possible that you're using the seal in contact with the parallel world? The village has long been abandoned. "... asked the question Ni Jugito:"Rift is supposed to now be closed."**

**"Two worlds overlap at some point, which does not happen often.** **In an underground cave beneath the ruins has been left the transmitter which opens a crack. The transmitter responds to a pure energy that has a trace of the seal of the Uzumaki clan. You can not even imagine what kind of technology they have in a parallel world."......**

**"Naruto, I think you owe me an explanation?!.....Sasuke looked at him:" We were in the future, when we find ourselves trapped in an artificial city. The war ended. How we find in the future when we returned in the past, before we dispelled the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"**

**"Simply, my grandfather saw the future. We were not in the future, but we have information about the future. Spiderweb, when activated the plan of Madara contained the information that my grandfather set up by seals. My grandfather used the same trick as the Madara but much sooner, causal loop.**

**It was able to perform only when the Madara awakened the Rinnegan. This allowed him to break the seal and summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which has been sealed within the moon by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki - the Sage of the Six Paths. Madara is with this process caused the opening of more dimensions as my grandfather used. Causal series .... only when something happens we can see the future as a result of that act. ".....**

 

**Dream**

****

 

 **My loneliness was agonizing and painful, I felt desperately lonely even when I was in among the people.** **I felt betrayed, abandoned, neglected, unwanted, what is to me often provoked to hate the world around me, but solitude was my teacher.**

**Solitude is my greatest teacher, because she taught me is that I need to be patient, durable, survive everything that gets in my way, but it led me to thinking, questioning and searching or creating new responses. Most importantly, it taught me that I can not run away from who I am, I can not escape the thoughts, feelings and voices in my head.**

**There's a voice in Naruto's head, tucked in behind his thoughts, and it’s always been there. Naruto is in a parallel world saw a dream.  Dreams are beautiful.**

**When he’s little, it’s simple enough to ignore, easy to overlook, because it doesn’t say much and Naruto rarely understands it when it does. So he runs and plays and ignores the way people glare at him, and it’s simple. Not quite easy, but close enough to count. He’s a child, living first in the orphanage and then on his own, and if he’s a little better than other children at chores and housekeeping and the like, he puts it down to practice when he bothers to think about it at all.**

**But it comes to him in dreams more than it ever does awake, and there he doesn’t bother to shut it out or push it down, because those dreams are beautiful. There's an island under a bright summer sun, a city on the sea, with azure waters all around. A city in white and red and shining gold, built on terraces climbing from the edge of the ocean and up into the surrounding hills.**

**He dreams he’s there, more nights than not. He dreams of walking the streets, running them with other children his age, darting through crowds of civilians and dodging groups of shinobi wearing a symbol he doesn’t know, even though it feels achingly, horribly familiar and laced with regret. The children run and he goes with them, _leads_ them more often than not, and instead of the black and brown hair common in Konoha those around him have red or blond or even stranger colors.**

**And they smile, these people. They smile and laugh at Naruto, ruffle his hair and call hello, and that’s never, ever happened in Konoha before. Naruto finds himself smiling back without fear or hesitation, too, answering their waves and laughter with his own. And he runs and plays with the other children—his friends, and that’s never happened in Konoha, either—from the time the sun rises to the moment it sets, and then goes back to a huge, stately building that rises from its surroundings like a palace.**

**There are other children there, some of them his friends and some only acquaintances, and they eat around a long table filled with food. Men and women in bright uniforms watch them, laugh with them, play with them, and Naruto thinks that this place is an orphanage, but it’s very different than the one he knows, brighter and cleaner and happier, with shinobi for caretakers instead of civilians.**

**So Naruto dreams of laughter and friendship and people who slip into his heart and take up space, become more precious than air and even dearer.**

**Then he wakes to an empty apartment that’s too large for just him, cold gazes and blank stares and dark whispers when his back is turned, children who avoid him and parents who pull their families away by the hand, and it…**

**It aches. It stings and wrenches and hurts, and Naruto doesn’t think this is the kind of thing you can put a bandage on and fix so simply.**

**But he runs and laughs anyways, an echo of his bright and beautiful dreams brought into the cold and dreary light of reality. He pretends he has friends, and he plays pranks, and runs, and he tries not to listen to a voice that pounds in his head and whispers not home not home not home go go go go home and I’ll find happiness.**

**Cold eyes and cold hearts and colder loneliness in reality.** **Joy and kindness and comfort in his dreams.** **Sometimes Naruto wonders why he even wakes up at all.**

**Jinchuriki have seen his dream, a dream that was similar to their own. Nine of them dreamed the same dream, from when they met Naruto their world of loneliness and hatred grown into a world of friendship, Naruto gave them hope that they have long lost ,hope are streamed in a dream, a dream that was within reach of their hands, now moment has come that they realize their shared dream.**

 

  **Parallel world**

****

 

**You can imagine my surprise when I woke, and found myself on the glass bed. Everything that was around me were made of glass.  
**

**"Naruto!" .... my surprise was enormous when I heard an unknown voice, in a strange place, calling me by name.  
**

**I became freaked out.  
**

**"Naruto!" Do not be afraid. ".... voice said.  
**

**I turned my head toward the voice and was surprised when I saw an older man who looked at me with a slight smile:"Where am I?" ..... I heard a voice and a voice that was not mine.  
**

**My mind was trying to agree on things but fucking hell, how my mind could possibly conceive of things that I see for the first time, of course, that my voice sounded like shrieking crows.  
**

**The older man I was passing while I was trying to move away from him, jumping off the bed, but only in my mind, because my body was frozen.  
**

**"Naruto, calm down!" .... the voice I heard now was sharp as a knife blade.  
**

**My mind calmed down suddenly, "Bloody hell, old man manages my mind!"  
**

**"I'm sorry, Naruto, you do not know me but I know you. You are my grandson, the son of my daughter Kushina and Minato Namikaze." ..... just that my brain started to fall apart, "For God's sake, I suddenly I have a grandfather. What's going on? "  
**

**"Who is Kushina and who is Minato Namikaze'".... mind winced when pieced together, daughter, grandson and grandfather. "The old man, you gotta be kidding me! I do not know my parents, 'cause I've never met them." ... I say quietly.  
**

**Then he surprised me: "Do you want to meet them?" .... I looked at him with distrust, because I knew that they could not be alive.  
**

**Here the old man corrected himself and said, "You'll see them in my memories." ... it's kind of been acceptable.  
**

**"Bloody hell!" ..... I agreed asking for a chance to escape from that place.  
**

**"You can not run away from this place, because you're not in your world!" .... he said, and then I knew that he reads my mind:"** **You're in another world. Your last name is Uzumaki as mine. You belong Uzumaki clan who lived in Uzushiogakure that no longer exists.** **Bloody hell, Naruto!" ... the old man shouted: "How can I explain in simple words, it is impossible! Damn,  ... for God's sake! Okay, you easily understand me, I'll show you my memories and respond to your questions "  
**

**You can not imagine how I felt when the old man told me he can not be explained in simple words. There I became angry at everything in Konoha, I was mad at my parents for not being with me, I was completely embarrassed and said: "Old man, me no one had learned anything. All that I'm self-taught and some of the others. Thirteen years I was alone. I'm sorry! "  
**

**"Do not worry Naruto, you got nothing to justify, because I saw your memories. Sadly, after Minato and Kushina sacrificed their lives for these people living in Konoha. Do not worry Naruto .... I swear ..." .... I saw that the old man was shaken to the core.  
**

**I ran to him, stood before him and said with a smile: "One day everyone will know who is Naruto Uzumaki, is not it, Grandpa?" .....the old man stroked my head: "When you become Hokage?" .. ..he said, and I laughed.  
**

**From that moment, all my doubts and fears disappeared. All around us was made of glass and a variety of crystals in all colors and shapes.  
**

**"Arriving in this world, we are changed. Techniques seals more often so we do not use, because we found other fields that we are free to explore, for better progress. I think that this world is made for those who have suffered destruction, who have learned from the mistakes and who have been given a new chance.".....the old man was saying.  
**

 

 **UZUSHIOGAKURE lie over the White River, which is separated into four tributaries in cascading waterfalls, they slope down to the great plains. Interestingly, cascading waterfalls associated crystal structures that make the passage under the river that hides an underground city.** **There are many structures of crystals but also of white marble.**

 **White River is a mirage, an illusion.** **Plains below the city is full of wonderful gardens with a variety of plants. In the the middle of the plains is Crystal Lake. Hot springs beneath the surface of the water keep them very warm; sometimes, when the springs are very active, the water of the lake actually boils.**  
**In the lake emptied the four rivers of which is the Red River, spring from the Red River comes from the slope of an active volcano that can be seen in the distance the city, bringing the crystals in the lake.**

**Using the crystal structure the city was built above the lake, raising the beautiful gardens at different heights that the city seems to hang in the air. Reflections of crystals create the illusion that the surface of the city floats on the White River. It is a wonderful place.**

**Old Village Uzushiogakure received new clothes. It's really nice place where the body and soul in nirvana.** **The building in which I had had a structure big crystal ball, which was built with many rooms like a bee hive.**  
**It was the site of a large library. The library is surrounded by extensive lawns, flower beds, shrubs and trees between which gurgling springs with small waterfalls and fountains. In the library we climb over the alabaster-crystal stairs glitter decorated with crystals and diamonds.**

**At the end of crystal stairs open door 'in the' universe. Meet me under the sky where you can see a variety of galaxies, stars and planets. They no longer serve speech than thoughts, telepathy, and their minds are in the form of holographic images.**

**There I became aware that I had no body, my mind and my soul became a particle of light that my grandfather transformed into holographic body.**

** **

**Grandpa told me that I can stay with them a month of their time, but I will for the time to learn many things.**

**One of the things is telepathy. Kakashi and Sasuke my conversation with you in your mind during a battle with Zabuza and Haku, did not come out of me, Kurama, than Naruto.** **In the just one month, under his leadership, I am overcome with a katana fighting, Taijutsu and Fūinjutsu.**

**At the end of the Kurama they show pictures from a parallel world.**

**"That was my first encounter with the parallel world, but my grandfather put the seal on the memory. It is too early to use this knowledge. Only in the second meeting he removed the seal, and that was when we were locked in an artificial city. ".......**

**Naruto and Sasuke stood quietly waiting for something to happen but nothing happened.**

**"Kurama, you are our savior!" ..... Sasuke and Naruto cried out.**

**"Hm, Hagoromo not count on me ..... or maybe count on me, I do not know."......Kurama sighed: "Hagoromo is seems a person who is fond of joking!"**

  **Nii Yugito** , Kller Bee, Roshi and Han were in thought.

**"Bee, Yugito how you managed to escape Fourth Raikage ?"......suddenly Naruto said: "Only he was still missing to appear. There will be a mess!"**

**""We did not think to keep in Konoha, but we came to contact you." .... Yugito said.**

**"Bakayarō! Konoyarō!"It is time that we make a pell-mell into the ninja world!".....Bee said with a big grin.**

**"We leave you now but we hope that we will all soon sit down to make a plan." ..... Roshi his feet: "It is better that we leave now, we do not create even greater confusion."**

**"My little foxes will be a connection between us. I am contacting you soon! Take care of yourself, because now we are all on shaky ground." ..... Naruto had a worried voice.**

**"See you mister nine!" .... smiled Han and they disappear in front of him.**

 


	51. MADARA UCHIHA MASTERMIND

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of the first part regarding Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.....

                                                                                       

 

**The Uchiha are descendants of Indra Otsutsuki, the elder son of Hagoromo. Through Indra, the Uchiha inherited Hagoromo's "eyes", granting them powerful spiritual energy and chakra. As part of the so-called "Curse of hatred" first displayed by Indra, Uchiha are subject to powerful emotions: these emotions typically start as love for a friend or family member that then become overpowering hatred when the object of their love is lost. This loss, whether actually experienced or merely threatened, awakens an Uchiha's sharingan. It is due to the Sharingan that the Uchiha have received much of their fame and notoriety.**

**Madara became the first Uchiha to awaken his mangekyo sharingan. With its increased power he took control of the Uchiha. After the death of his brother, he took Izuna's eyes to acquire "eternal" Mangekyo.**

**He rewrote his death and went into hiding to work on his plans. Madara was killed by Hashirama and his corpse was secretly hidden to keep anyone from finding it and profiting from it. But Madara had planned ahead: he had scheduled an Izanagi to activate sometime after his death, changing reality to bring him back to life in exchange for his right eye's vision. He left a copy in place of his real body and went into hiding with a special trophy from his fight with Hashirama: a mouthful of Hashirama's flesh that he transplanted into his wounds. It was not until decades later, towards the end of Madara's natural life, that the cells had any effect, awakening the rinnegan (in the process restoring his right eye). With the Rinnegan he was able to summon the Demonic statue of the outer path.**

**Hamura Ōtsutsuki twin brother of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki; both of whom were the first people born with the ability to wield chakra. Hamura was the ancestor of the Hyūga clan and the founder of the shinobi of the Moon.**

**Hagoromo and Hamura succeeded in defeating and sealing her within Hagoromo. Some time later, Hagoromo created the tailed beasts and extracted the Ten tails husk from his body and sealed it into the moon, resulting in his death. Before his brother's demise, Hamura and the rest of the clan departed to the moon, in order to guard his mother's sealed remains, though not before receiving instructions from his brother to wait for a full millennium and observe mankind.**

**However, there is the question of what will happen to the seal when he dies. He is keeping the seal entrusted Uzumaki clan. Madara would not know that, but that his procedure has enabled my grandfather to intervene in our world.  
**

**Destruction of Uzushiogakure was insugated none other than by Madara himself through his agents: The shinobi of the Kirigakure for the expressed purposes of eliminating a potential threat, and most importantly, the acquisition of the host of the Rinnegan: Nagato Uzumaki.**

**Over the years, Madara had perfected his plans for peace in what he called the Eye of the Moon plan. But as his years waned, Madara knew he couldn't complete his plans in the time he had left.**

**Nagato lived with his parents: Fuso and Ise on the outskirts of Amegakure. When he was very young, Madara Uchiha secretly transplanted his rinnegan into Nagato.**

**So he transplanted his Rinnegan intending Nagato to someday use the eyes to restore Madara to life. If Nagato was to do this, however, Madara would need an agent to act on his behalf and guide Nagato towards this ultimate goal. Madara waited, connecting himself to Demonic Statue to keep him alive until someone could be found. Madara spent this time keeping a close eye on Konoha to find a suitable pawn to take his place.**

**The second shinobi world war was fought between Konoha, the Third Hokage against Suna, third Kazegake, Amegakure guided with Hanzo, Iwagakure, third Tsuchikage while Kirigakure were neutral.**

**It was the perfect time for the destruction of the allies of Konoha, Uzushiogakure. Kiri had only one goal the destruction of Uzumaki clan.**

**Madara Uchiha had control over Kiri during the second war.**

**Uzumaki clan has a very strong Fuinjitsu .... Rikudou sennin is original blood relationship which would logically cause them to be a threat Infinite Tsukuyomi.**

**During the Third Shinobi World War, Madara found a badly injured Obito Uchiha. The person who will lead the Nagato. Madara used Hashirama's cells to replace Obito's damaged extremities and placed a Forbidden Curse Individual Tag and Obito's heart as a fail-safe in case Obito ever turned against him. Until then, Madara began working towards corrupting Obito.**

**He had Kirigakure kidnap the girl loved Obito, Rin Nohara, and seal the Three-Tails into her. He then manipulated events so that Rin would die at the hand of Obito's friend, Kakashi Hatake, while Obito watched.  Driven to despair, Obito offered his services to Madara.**

**Madara divulged to Obito the history of the Sage of the Six Paths and the Ten-Tails, the details of his Eye of the Moon Plan, and various techniques that Obito would need moving forward. As a final act, he left behind Black Zetsu - what he believed to be a manifestation of his will - to provide additional guidance to Obito in pursuit of that goal. With that, Madara disconnected from the Demon Statue, with his dying breath, Obito entrusted with his name: Madara Uchiha.  
**

**"But he did not count on my grandfather. Do not mess with the Uzumaki clan, Madara."......Naruto smiled." White zetsu he played his part in it. When he wanted to take my body and he is with me ended up in a parallel world. From him was my grandfather gathered information that was sufficient to connect the threads that were missing, as though they had seen the future are not could see everything. "**

** **

 


	52. AKATSUKI.....MEANING OF THE RINGS

  **The air gave off just a small chill for anyone about the night. The bright moon lit up the large, sprawling forest below. Wind whistled through the gently swaying leaves, giving off just the slightest rustle.**

**One spot in the trees contained a large, deep crevice in the earth, hidden by the canopy of the surrounding forest. The floor of the canyon contained an enormous skeleton of some fallen beast. Directly past it was the mouth of a cave leading into the side of the mountain.**

**Down past the dark, moist tunnel was a very large room containing a monstrous statue of a multi eyed humanoid creature coming out of the side of the stone wall. It's chained arms came up from the ground, towering over the small group of cloaked figures standing directly below on the ground.**

**All of the ninjas standing together bore matching black robes with red clouds patched throughout. Some of the group wore headbands over there forehead, which bore a deep scratch over the symbol on the metal plate in the center. All members also wore a unique ring on one of their fingers.**

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

                                                                 

 

**Zero division, accordingly their ring kanjis, is representing the symbols from the Chinese constellations.**

 

**Pein's **Ring position: Right thumb          :   零  = R **ei**  ............................ P’an Ku......................................................represents the Earth.......****

_****The first figure in our history is Pangu, regarded as the Chinese Adam by westerners. According to legend, in the beginning there was only darkness and chaos. Then an extremely large egg appeared. This vast egg was subjected to two opposing forces or principles. The interaction of the two forces -- yin, the passive or negative female principle, and yang, the active or positive male principle -- caused the egg to produce Pangu, and the shell to separate. The upper half of the shell formed the heaven, and the lower half the earth.** ** _

_****The substance of the legend is that P’an Ku chiselled the universe for eighteen thousand years, and as he chiselled, so he grew himself, six feet every day. When his work was complete, his body became the substance of the universe: his head became the mountains, his breath the wind. From his eyes the sun and moon were made, while the stars were made from his beard. His limbs became the four quarters, his blood the rivers, his flesh the soil, his hairs the trees and plants, his teeth and bones the rocks and minerals, and his sweat the rain. Finally, the lice on his body become the human race. In China, he holds the hammer and chisel with which he formed the universe, and is surrounded by the Four Creatures** ** _

 

**Deidara's Ring position: Right index finger:   青龍 = the Azure Dragon of the East also known as Bluegreen Dragon .......represents the Wood......Seiryū..... represents spring**

_**The dragon corresponds to the season spring, the color green/blue, the element wood, and the virtue propriety; supports and maintains the country (controls rain, symbol of the Emperor’s power). Often paired with the Vermillion, for the two represent both conflict and wedded bliss.** _

 

**Konan's   Ring position: Right middle finger: 白虎 = the White Tiger of the West............................................................represents the Metal......Byakko.... represents autumn**

_**Observes world with clairvoyance; corresponds to the season fall, the color white, wind, the element metal, and the virtue righteousness. The tiger was the king of all animals and lord of the mountains, and the tiger-jade ornament was specially reserved for commanders of armies. The male tiger was, among other things, the god of war, and in this capacity it not only assisted the armies of the emperors, but fought the demons that threatened the dead in their graves.** _

 

**Itachi's    Ring position: Right ring finger:     朱雀  = the Vermillion Bird of the South..................................................... represents the  Fire.........Suzaku.....represents  summer**

_**Corresponds to summer, red, fire, and knowledge; makes small seeds grow into giant trees (need to give source). Often paired with the dragon, for the two represent both conflict and wedded bliss; dragon(emperor) and phoenix (empress). It is described as a red bird that resembles a pheasant with a five-colored plumage and is perpetually covered in flames and an enchanting song; only appears in times of good fortune.** _

 

 **Zetsu **Ring position: Right little finger:    玄武  = the Black Tortoise  of the North known as the "Black Warrior"............represents the  Water......**** ****Genbu......represents winter** **

_****He is called " Xuan" for the color black and " Wu" meaning "tortoise". One of the Celestial Emblems, the symbol of longevity and wisdom. It is said that its shell represents the vault of the universe. A common symbol for longevity is the Tortoise and Snake, whose union was thought to have engendered the universe. The tortoise had divine attributes. Tortoise shell is a symbol of unchangeability, and a symbol or rank when used for court girdles. The tortoise was also used for purposes of divination. A gigantic mythical tortoise is supposed, in the Far East, to live in the depths of the ocean. It has one eye situated in the middle of its body. Once every three thousand years it rises to the surface and turns over on its back so that it may see the sun.  
** ** _

_****A turtle’s shell (plastron) also symbolizes a suit of armor, hence the turtle is also called the or Dark Warrior. The Dark Warrior represents the Northern Palace or northern constellations of the Chinese zodiac. The tortoise is the symbol of heaven and earth, its shell compared to the vaulted heaven and the underside to the flat disc of the earth. The tortoise is also regarded as an immortal creature. As there are no male tortoise -- as the ancient believed -- the female had to mate with a snake.** ** _

_****The tortoise -- also known as the somber warrior -- and snake together are the symbols or totems of a powerful shaman who fights evil against the demons of the Invisible World. According to ancient tradition, the black tortoise is yin; the snake yang.** ** _

                                                                             

 

_**The twenty eight mansions  (constellations situated along the moon's path as it rotates around the earth each month. They are called "mansions" or "lodges" because they were once understood to be resting places for the moon during its journey.)  form an ecliptic coordinate system used for those stars not visible (from China) during the whole year, based on the movement of the moon over a lunar month. Above these constellations are three gold dots representing a group of stars called the Three Terraces. These stars, near the Northern Dipper (Big Dipper) in what the ancient Chinese considered the most important part of the sky.**_

_**To either side of the Three Terraces are the sun (right) and the moon (left), which can be identified by the traditional symbol of a hare pounding anelixir  (in Outer Alchemy, a magical potion that bestows immortality when swallowed; in Inner Alchemy, the life-prolonging energy attained through spiritual purification ) of immortality.** _

_**The Twenty-Eight Mansions are grouped into four symbols.** _

_**The Three Enclosures are Purple Forbidden enclosure covers the northern most area of the night sky. The Supreme Palace enclosure lies to its east and north, while the Heavenly Market enclosure lies to its west and south.** _

_**The Purple Forbidden Enclosure occupies the northernmost area of the night sky. From the viewpoint of the ancient Chinese, the Purple Forbidden Enclosure lies in the middle of the sky and is circled by all the other stars. It covers the modern constellations Ursa Minor, Draco, Camelopardalis, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Auriga, Boötes, and parts of Ursa Major, Canes Venatici, Leo Minor, Hercules.** _

_**The Supreme Palace Enclosure covers the modern constellations Virgo, Coma Berenices and Leo, and parts of Canes Venatici, Ursa Major and Leo Minor.** _

_**The Heavenly Market Enclosure covers the modern constellations Serpens, Ophiuchus, Aquila and Corona Borealis, and parts of Hercules.** _

 

 **The Void division also represents the four celestial directions. As we can easily notice, the Void ring fills the center position. The other two rings, Nanju and Hakuto, respectively represent South and North directions. Santai ring and Gyokunyo ring each representing West and East directions.**  

 

**Orochimaru **Ring position:**  Left little finger:              空陳 = Kūchin, the Void.....fills the center position**

 

**Kisame **Ring position:  Left ring finger:               南斗 = Nanju, the Southern Star,  (lit. Southern Star)****

 

**Kakuzu **Ring position:  Left middle finger:           北斗 = Hokuto, the Northern Star, (lit. Northern Star)****

 

**Hidan **Ring position:  Left index finger:              三台 = Santai, Three Levels****

_****Santai literally means the Three Levels. Apparently in one of the seven mansions of the White Tiger (Which symbolize for the West) there is a mansion named Three Stars (Orion-European).** ** _

 

**Sasori, Tob **Ring position:  Left thumb:                      玉女 = Gyokunyo, the Virgin, Symbol: 玉 (Means "jewel" or " ball")****

_**There are two meanings for Sasori** **ring. It seems that the kanji it self holds two meanings as Tama (Sphere) and Gyokunyo (Virgin). The Neck mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the eastern mansions of the Azure Dragon. The Neck mansion (Chinese Constellation) has the European constellation name version as the Virgo (Virgin). Therefore I take this as a clue for the Gyokunyo ring is representing the east direction.** _

_**Tama means 'Sphere' or 'Orb' as the second meaning of Sasori's ring kanji. Azure Dragon is a green-blueish dragon. In the classic Chinese posters dragons usually depicted with an orb or a ball (a sphere). Its some kind of amulet of the dragon to gain power for traveling across the heaven.** _

_**They are all actually using constellation names to represent directions. Precisely saying it taken from the Chinese constellations.** _

 

_**The statues left hand ring names are the mansions of the Right hand side. The fusion of the two divisions will result in a new formation called the Heavenly directions. At the center of it, is the famous icon named Taijitiu or the Yin Yang.** _

_**Those who stand on the right hand of the statue are belonging to the Yin or the Heaven side. And those who stand on the left hand of the statue are parts of the Yang or the Earth side.** _

**Based on their rings, Akatsuki's formation is similar with the Yin Yang and its heavenly directions.  
** **The Left hand of the giant statue consists of members from the Yang division and the right hand of the statue consist of Yin division members.**  
**The balance of powers between the left and right hand of the statue during bijuus chakra sealing is important.**

 

 **Yahiko's death ultimately convinced Nagato that his philosophies about achieving peace were foolish; the world would never willingly end the cycle of death and hatred it had operated on for so long. Only through direct experience of war and all the losses and agonies it brought could anyone truly desire peace. Pain embraced the villagers' idea of him being God and** **Nagato had planned for the complete destruction of the world and re-build it as God but before that he should be born anew "reincarnation."**

**All living beings are born into one of the six states of existence ( the cycle of life and death). All are trapped in this wheel of life. All beings within the six realms are doomed to death and rebirth in a recurring cycle over countless ages -- unless they can break free from desire and attain enlightenment.  
**

 

**天道          Deva ....................The suffering of the gods arise from foreseeing one's fall from the god's realm......... This suffering comes from pride.  
**

**人道          Humans................The suffering of humans is birth, sickness, old age, and death. .................................This suffering comes from desire.  
**

**阿修羅道    Ashura ................The suffering of the asura is constant fighting. ......................................................... This suffering comes from jealousy.  
**

**畜生道       Animals......... .....The suffering of animals is stupidity, preying upon one another, being killed by men for meat, skins, etc., and being beasts of burden.**

**This suffering comes from ignorance.  
**

**餓鬼道      Hungry Ghosts.....The suffering of hungry ghosts is hunger and thirst. ....................................................This suffering comes from greed.  
**

**地獄道       Beings in Hell.....The sufferings of hell are heat and cold........................................................................ This suffering comes from anger or hatred.**

 

_**The Six States are also known as the Six Paths/Roads of Reincarnation/Transmigration. One must achieve nirvana (in which one is free of desire and therefore suffering. Nirvana literally means "the state of a flame being blown out." It represents the quiet state of mind that exists when the fires of attachment and desire are extinguished. It can also refer to the "flame of death." ) to break free of the cycle.** _

_**Only those who attain enlightenment, are free from the cycle of birth and death, the cycle of nirvana means heaven, the ultimate state, the final goal.** **To escape from the cycle, one must either achieve “to awaken, to know.” in one's life or be reborn in **the Land of Ultimate Bliss** , practice there, and achieve enlightenment there; those reborn in this Pure Land are no longer trapped in the cycle of suffering, and can thus devote all their efforts to attaining enlightenment...... nirvana means heaven, the ultimate state, the final goal. If you have reached this state ,you have broken free of the wheel of life, the six states, the karmic circle, the cycle of suffering.   ** _

****

 

**Nagato has agreed to an alliance with the Akatsuki with a hidden intent. Their common point was to gather nine beasts but they are here for their ideas diverged, because each of them had a hidden intention .**

**\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**All of these items were evidence of belonging to the highest ranking criminal organization in the land of ninja. All members were S-rank criminals, each bearing extreme and unique powers.**

**The Akatsuki.**

**In all, five members were standing in the room, awaiting for the others to arrive. All were sitting quietly, except for one member who sat twirling his long, triple bladed red scythe over and over.**

**The gray haired ninja yelled out in frustration. "Damn it! How much longer do we have to wait?"**

**"Shut up, Hidan!" .....the masked member grunted, his solid green eyes burning through the darkness:"Quit complaining. We were given orders all meet up here."**

**Hidan sneered at his partner, "Why don't you kiss my ass, Kakazu! I know why we are here, I'm asking what is taking so long."**

**"Whatever is the reason, it can't be changed."....** **Hidan growled, walking over and getting in Kakazu's face, "Well, aren't you a clever shit! I never realized that!"... his sarcasm thrown in every word.**

**The two ninja continued to bicker as the other members sat frustrated as well, they knew what was happening, but did not understand why they had to all be together to complete the process. The red haired ninja to the side glanced to his side, seeing his blonde haired partner slowly shifting his closed hands together.**

**Curiosity took over his boredom, wondering what was being made:"What are you creating this time, Deidara?"**

**Deidara glanced up, his hair covering half his face.**

**He grinned at the fellow artist, "This, Sasori, is one of my personal favorites..." he opened his fists, revealing the mouths on each of his palms.**

**The left handed mouth spit out a glob of clay on the ground, which began to shift into a long snake.**

**Deidara smiled at the now slithering creature."My self guided snake bombs. Once they go, they search for whatever they see or whatever gets in their way."**

**Sasori rolled his eyes, his form of art was the creation and control of puppets, able to last forever. Deidara only cared for creating art which was 'an explosion' as he always said. The two contradicting styles always clashed about which was better.**

**Standing off alone, another ninja tapped his food up and down impatiently. He was much taller than all the others in the room with him. His blue skin shine from what light was in the room, revealing the gills on his cheeks. Slung over his shoulder was his weapon; an enormous sword inside of a white wrapping except for the end, revealing bluish-purple mass of razor sharp denticles spread throughout the surface.**

**Suddenly, a green mass began to come up through the ground in the middle of the group. The giant Venus fly trap Splits open after a few moments, revealing the main body of Zetsu; a split personality being consisting of one half body of white and another black. Bright yellow eyes shown under his green hair.**

**The black half suddenly spoke in a deep, raspy voice, "They are here."**

**All of the members in the room went quiet as the pair of figures walked into the large cave. The figure on left was a female with blue hair put up in a bun. She wore a paper flower in her hair and had a piercing below her lip. Konan was the only female member of the Akatsuki, yet she was not one to be called weak. Her unique jutsu made her a formidable opponent to any ninja. Her partner, however, was considered a god to all.**

**Pain came into the faint light, revealing the many black piercings through his face, especially his nose. His eyes slowly opened, revealing what gave him his extraordinary powers; purple eyes surrounded by a pattern of rings; the rinnegan.**

**Being one of the founding members of the organization, he was the figurehead to the other akatsuki members.**

**Nagato was angry:"Two people are missing, Orochimaru and Itachi, where are they?"**

**"We do not know?" .... he received a reply from the present .**

**"For a while forget our original goal. Urgently find them! Anyway, none of you has not had success! Our mission for some time break but you have no time to rest. " ..... Nagato was nervous:" I have to find a solution to get out of this crisis."**

**Two of his ring was in the possession of Naruto.**

**Naruto is when meeting with Itachi demanded the ring from him, because the ring was active. Itachi already knew that Naruto and Sasuke have a plan or is Naruto had a plan under the plan. He gave it to him without complaint, and so he could freely enter the underworld of Konoha.**

 

  
**The Balance of the Energy in the Statue......Bijuu's chakra consists of Yin and Yang stream. The statue was designed to absorb these two kinds effectively. The combination of the Yin and Yang of each hand will creates a massive chakra object that is so big to generate a large chakra gravity force.**

** **

**Orochimaru also had a plan when he joined Akatsuki. When Sandaime first confronted Orochimaru about his experiments, and Orochimaru explained how he wanted to combine blue (chakra) and yellow (hand signs) to make green (a jutsu) and there was a swirling yin yang behind him. Yinyang concept in general is a sort of life philosophy for him.  
**

**Orochimaru's experiment to gain more power by joining the forces of Yin and Yang in one body. Orochimaru probably is a true genius that could predict such bizarre things will happen in the future. He probably knows the story of the Uchiha clan and their founder.**

**He was the holder of the Void ring. This ring symbolizes the center position in the Yang division. Orochimaru was a member of the Yang (Light, Earth, Male) division in the Akatsuki, and he transmigrated into the female body for the sake of the sealing process.**

**Pain is able to switch bodys, also.**


	53. MEMENTO

**What have you done?**  
**Yes I'm talking to you**  
**Your only sonthe one you dressed in nails**  
**I know how hard it is for you to show**  
**Show your love**  
**For your love I take**  
**The nails and thorns**  
**That will never be enough**  
**Still I beg and crawl**  
**For your God-damned love**  
**I've just begun**  
**To understand your ways**  
**You need blood**  
**So no one goes away**  
**I know how hard it is for you to show**  
**Turn the other cheek again**  
**Will I?**  
**Maybe let me in this time**  
**Show your love**  
**For your love I take**  
**The nails and thorns**  
**That will never be enough**  
**Still I beg and crawl**  
**For father and son**  
**I'm your son**  
**For your God-damned love**  
  
                                                                       

**When I was three I remember a neighbor telling my mother that I was an old soul in a child's body. Given the hindsight of an adult, I doubt the old man meant it entirely as a joke. I was a serious child. My mother told me time and time again that from the moment I was born I smiled only at the strangest of things. I never laughed at the odd faces adults make for infants, or at the gifts my relatives lavished upon me. But I laughed whenever my father spoke to me.**

**“He's mocking you, Uchiha-san,”...... a friend once told my father.**

**“Of course not!” .....my father insisted, grasping me firmly beneath my arms and lifting me deftly above his head. “My child is full of life, and he knows it.”**

**Then he would lower me with his strong arms and set me back on my feet.**

 

**“You love Chichi-ue, don't you?”..... he would say to me softly, as if to keep it secret from everyone else. “My Itachi.”**

**Did I love him? Maybe I did. Not that it matters.**

**Even before I learned to walk, I began running away. I crawled onto the porch, or into the small garden in the courtyard behind our house. My parents worried, but they needn't have. I wasn't the sort of infant to reach for everything in sight and put it in my mouth. No; I was a watcher.**

**Instead of crawling out into the street where I might've been stepped on, I sat on the porch and stared with avid fascination at the passers-by. When they found me, my parents would lift me into their arms and clasp me to them fiercely, alternately scolding and proclaiming their relief.**

 

**But my father was also proud of my curiosity.**

**“He's so eager to see what's going on in the village,”..... he would claim proudly over dinner with my uncles. “Already my child Itachi knows his place.”**

**But I didn't want to see what was happening. My frank child's eyes showed me the truth of that.**

**What I wondered as I watched them pass me by was “Why?”**

**Why did the men and women carry weapons while their children ran laughing through the streets? Why did some laugh, while others wept or wore faces grim as death? Of course, my mind couldn't form these questions into words at so young an age, but the questions were there nonetheless. I didn't learn to speak properly until I was nearly three years old. Speech just wasn't important to me when I was busy drinking the world in through my eyes.**

**But once I began to speak, and to join the other children in their games, I began to hear the word “genius” used often around me. Though small, I was the strongest of the Uchiha children---except for Shisui, who was four years older than me and could move so fast his body blurred. I was aware that people were beginning to call me “genius,” and from the very first I didn't like it. I was a boy, not a word. But the adults who saw the way I watched things and who listened to what I had to say always began to refer to “that genius Itachi,” and not to me.**

**“I'm right here,”..... I would insist, planting myself in front of them when they spoke that way. “I'm Itachi.”....and they'd laugh and lavish me with affection, thinking that was what I wanted.**

**I wasn't really certain what I wanted at that point, maybe something worthwhile to do to distract me from the endless chorus of “Why? Why? Why?” ....in my head.**

**Just two years after I mastered speech there was talk of sending me to school. And it wasn't just any school, but the Konoha Academy itself. My family wanted me to skip the preliminary school and enroll directly, though this would put me in with classmates twice my age. I wasn't sure what to make of this notion, but if it was something new I was willing to try. My enrollment at the age of five was an unusual request, but my parents were strongly adamant about it. I'd learned to read and write soon after learning to speak, and in that sense I was already beyond the level of those entering the preliminary school. My father in particular saw great potential in me, and he wanted me to learn the ninja's trade as soon as possible. My precocious strength excited him, because I think that even then he foresaw the day when I would surpass him. All fathers, I suppose, wish for their children to surpass them. But I think they also secretly fear it, for never is the waning of age so apparent to a man's eyes as when he bears witness to the waxing of youth.**

**Perhaps I am an old soul . . . Not that it matters.**

**The request for my premature enrollment in Konoha's ninja academy was apparently such an anomaly that it required the highest consideration. The Hokage himself came to visit our house, along with several of my uncles, who were men of particular influence both in the Uchiha Clan and in Konoha's policing force. The day the Hokage came I was sitting in the garden by myself, crouched by the little stream that ran through its center and utterly absorbed. My parents had left me to myself for a bit while they discussed their proposal with the others, and I was content to let them, because even if I had attended it wasn't as if they were going to talk to me.**

**So I sat bent over the stream, playing. I'd made a game of darting my hand into the water and withdrawing it as quickly as possible without making ripples. I wasn't aware of the Hokage's presence behind me until he quite deliberately stepped on a stick.**

**I half-turned and saw a young man with yellow hair and very sharp blue eyes standing there. He wasn't what I'd been expecting. Having only seen the Hokage from afar and in ceremonial dress, I'd pictured him as an older man, with dark hair like the Uchiha and a far more impressive stature. This man was of medium height, and looked as if he were at least ten years younger than my father. He smiled warmly at me, but he was obviously here to study me and see if I really was that genius Itachi. I didn't return the smile.**

 

**“What are you doing?”...... he asked me, kneeling down beside me on the gray flagstones bordering the stream.**

**I returned my attention to my dripping hand, which I still held poised above the water. Suddenly my game seemed childish to me, and I wished he hadn't caught me at it. I was unnerved by his presence because I didn't think a Hokage should be sitting beside me on the ground when he was so much more powerful.**

**But he seemed to be waiting patiently for my answer, so I replied, “Testing myself.”**

**This elicited a laugh from him, and I stared at him in surprise. His whole face seemed to flash when he laughed, like a mirror catching the sun.**

 

**“Oh, I see,”.... he chuckled. “Well, then I suppose I don't need to test you. But why are you testing yourself? Are you worried about being allowed into school?”**

**I shook my head, looking down again.**

**“I want to know what I can do,”..... I told him solemnly. “I don't care how strong other people think I am.”**

**He smiled at me again, but this time it was a quiet smile, and his gaze was thoughtful.**

**“That's very wise, Itachi-kun,”..... he told me, and once again I looked at him in surprise.**

**The Hokage was looking at me as if he truly understood me, which I found comforting and unnerving at the same time.**

**“Can you show me?” .......he asked, gesturing toward the water. Mutely, I nodded.**

**Then I bent over the stream and demonstrated how I could cut through the water's surface by wielding my hand like a blade, leaving only the faintest of disturbances. The Hokage seemed duly impressed, but he didn't praise me for it.**

**Instead he said, “I've heard that you don't speak much. But you are very gifted, Itachi-kun, and you must not be afraid to tell people what you're thinking.”**

**I knew then what it was that he'd been discussing with my parents at such length.**

 

**Not two days beforehand my mother had told me she was going to have another child. I wasn't sure what she expected of me, but I was interested. I asked her why mothers wanted to give birth to children.**

**She smiled gently at me and said, “Because we love them.”**

**I frowned at her. “But what's the reason?”**

**She pulled me into her embrace, saying only, “Children are born to be loved,” .....to which my only response was to nod seriously.**

**I could see she was troubled by this.**

**“Are you happy, Itachi?” .....she asked unexpectedly.**

**I blinked in bemusement.**

**“I don't know,” .....was my final answer.**

**A child at the time, I didn't understand what it was she wanted. But somehow, because of something I had or hadn't said, I'd made her unhappy. This, in turn, troubled me, because it was something I didn't understand. But later I learned that this was why she'd suddenly begun to share my father's adamancy about my enrolling early in the academy. She felt I was too “isolated,” and that I needed to “interact with others more.” She was worried.**

**And I was confused, because I'd made her worry.**

**I realized the Hokage wasn't there that day to test my skills. He was there to see if I were really as worrisome as my parents claimed.**

 

**Wanting to please him, I answered, “I want to go to school. I want to learn new things, and to understand other people. That's what I think.”**

**He gazed at me in silence for a moment; a silence broken only by the babbling of the brook. Then he laughed again, flashing the sun's brightness in my earnest little face.**

**“Uchiha Itachi, if only all our students wanted to learn so badly,” ......he told me. “Konoha would be full to the brim with Jounin.”**

**I was very young then, and eager to please; especially the Yondaime, who spoke to me and not that genius, and whom I, like other children my age, had always idolized because of the stories we'd heard of him. I thought the academy might really give me the answers to my why's, and I told him so in so many words. He grew more serious then, and laid a firm hand on my shoulder.**

**“The Uchiha bloodline carries great responsibility,”.... he said, “because it's so powerful.**

**But there's a difference between being powerful and being strong, Itachi-kun.**

**A powerful man asks, "What can I do?"**

 

**A strong man asks, "What can I do for others?"**

**When you begin learning a ninja's arts, you are accepting the possibility that you may die defending the ones you're obligated to protect.”**

**I stared at him, and my mouth fell open a little. No one had ever said something like that to me before, and I was stunned. I'd never thought of where my precocious strength was leading me; I'd only been aware of the fact that it was leading me. That was what he intended in coming to speak to me that day; to make me aware of the loyalties that bound the Leaf-nin to their village.**

**He was doing so because the powerful ones who failed to learn that before becoming more powerful often became dangerous.**

**But back then, I didn't see it that way. I was in awe that the Yondaime had deigned to speak with me, and fascinated by the idea of being willing to die for other people. He had very strong charisma, the Fourth did. That was why we all looked up to him. Sitting there beside him in the courtyard, I thought to myself, The Hokage knows many answers. I want to grow into a man just like him.**

**He explained to me what the ninja code of honor meant to him, which I listened to with rapt attention. Then he rose and left me, stepping through the sliding door into the house to confer again with my parents. Left to myself, I leaped to my feet and rushed to my room. There I found a quill and a scroll and wrote down everything that he had told me, so I'd never forget. I would destroy it eight years later, in deep disgust. It was no great loss; there was no real wisdom in his ideas about strength.**

**The Fourth was a fool.**

**He was defeated not by Kyuubi, but by his own brave, stupid ideals.**

 S **hinobi are not born powerful to make martyrs of themselves.**

**But my disillusionment didn't come for many years, and so when I was small I idolized the Yondaime like all the others.**

**The verdict was reached, of course, that I was indeed to be sent to school. I was to begin the same term as my cousin Shisui, which meant within three weeks of the decision being made.**

**On the appointed day, I set out from home with a bento from my mother and a head full of questions. At my side walked Shisui, seeming a great deal less optimistic. He was usually such a cheerful person, but that day he seemed full of some grim sense of duty. I was curious.**

**“Does Shisui-sempai not like coming to school with me?” ....I asked him.**

**He had never bullied me, though he was far stronger and could have if he'd wanted to.**

**Now he turned to look at me, very solemn with his shaggy black hair falling over his face and his jaw set with determination.**

**“I will look after you, Itachi,”..... he told me firmly. “It's important that we go together.”**

**I wasn't too keen on this. “Did Chichi-ue tell you to?”**

**“Yeah,”...... he admitted, with hardly any sheepishness. “But I've already decided that it's my special mission.”**

**“What Class mission is it?”..... I asked, distracted again by my curiosity. “D? A? S?”**

**This made him laugh. He always found things I said funny that I hadn't meant to be funny at all, but I didn't mind. He always called me Itachi, and never that genius.**

**By the end of our first day at school, however, I realized why my father had been worried. With my other classmates, it was hatred at first sight. They didn't like that I knew all the answers, they didn't understand my unabashed desire to learn, and they certainly disliked being out-shown by someone three years younger than they were. I believe I would've been a target for bullying if it weren't for Shisui. When I walked home from school with him, moving in his shade like a shadow, the others shot us looks but never bothered us.**

**As I've said before, Shisui was the strongest of the younger Uchiha, and in those days he walked around with a chip on his shoulder. He never returned the glares, but sometimes his eyes would flash red, for the briefest of instants. He was warning them that I was his shadow, and they had no right to harm me. Shisui always was a hothead; my parents said so. The Uchiha were widely respected, and he seemed to take any hostility toward me as an affront to his Clan. He treated me like a friend, but also like a symbol of the Uchiha, whose honor he was bound to protect. I can't say I liked being treated like a symbol any more than that genius, but I liked Shisui. Maybe even loved him; he became like my brother. Not that any of that matters.**

**Well . . . maybe it did matter, after all. Without that bond, I wouldn't be what I am today. I owe him that, at least.**

**But it's enough to say that in those days, the both of us were alone together often, and so came to prefer each others' company.**

**A year rolled by. My mother's belly grew large and low-slung; my aunts said she was carrying a girl. When she finally gave birth, on a dull, hot summer day, it was a boy. I was allowed in to see them afterward and I remember it well: my mother sweaty with her black hair straggled across her brow; the tiny creature in her arms red and screaming. My father came in behind me, silent but proud. He laid a large hand on the crowns of each of our heads mine and my brother's and he stood there for a moment as if just by touching us both he was connecting us together in his heart. His Uchiha children, who would one day bear the Sharingan as he did. His sons, who would fight side by side for the glory of our clan. I felt no connection, though. Whatever my father felt, to me it was just a hand resting on my head, a little heavy. I wanted to shake it off.**

**I didn't hate my new brother, but neither did I love him. He was simply there. The only active good that came of his presence in the house was that he kept my mother occupied. I was glad she had another child to care for; it distracted her from worrying about me.**

**In the meantime, I was growing stronger under the tutelage of the Academy. I always practiced with Shisui; he taught me things he'd learned in his more advanced classes. This, of course, only served to deepen the resentment my own classmates bore me. But I was beginning to realize just how stupid their hatred was, and how little it meant to me. After all, I would one day become much stronger than they were, and the Hokage had told me it was the duty of the strong to protect the weak. In my eyes, they were weak, because all they could do was hate me.**

**My heart was firmly set upon becoming a strong man.**

**And then . . . the Fourth died. Three months later. Swiftly, like a flame snuffed by the wind.**

**One day, as Shisui and I were heading for school, the sentries at Konoha's gates sent out cries of alarm. The news went traveling across the Village like wildfire, even before the earth began to shake. A great demon fox bearing nine tails was headed straight for our village. I don't know its true origin the Kyuubi's. At that time, Konoha was newly out of a war with the Stone Country. Our list of casualties was long particularly the Uchiha, which I will speak of later. Once the Kyuubi reached the village, the list grew. Our forces were deployed a second time, to face a threat unlike any they'd ever faced before or at least a force that none of those living in that era could remember facing.**

**The ground trembled and shook, and some of the older buildings collapsed. As was standard in times of invasion, the civilians, women and children were herded into underground shelters. There is a particularly large network of tunnels under Konoha, all of which lead to larger chambers beneath the mountain where the Hokage memorial monument is carved. It's a dank, musty place with poor lighting and even poorer water quality. To say nothing of sewage. Of course we didn't complain, because we were shinobi children and already we had been taught that suffering was our fate in life. There were no screams or flights of panic as we filed into the tunnels. There might have been tears, but mine were not among them. I was only five, but I had left tears behind me long ago.**

**After an endless journey in darkness, breathing in stale air that made our eyes sting, we reached the large chambers beneath the mountain. And there we waited, sitting huddled on the floor and smelling the stink of each others' fear. You can smell fear on others; something in the sweat. It was stifling there. To get away from it, I climbed upward, following a long system of ladders through vertical tunnels. They led me to a place where I could squeeze out a hole in the rock little bigger than a dinner plate. An adult would not have been able to fit; I was fortunate to be so small and slight at that age.**

**I crawled into daylight, squinting and rubbing the dust from my eyes, and found myself on a narrow ledge on the cliff face. It was very high; I'd climbed a long ways. But I quickly forgot any fear of vertigo once my eyes adjusted to the brightness.**

**I could see it. The demon. It was enormous; taller than our buildings. Red and raw and powerful, chakra bleeding off it into the air like flames. A chilling autumn wind swept against the mountainside, but I rose shakily into a standing position. Buildings were falling. Trees were cracking and snapping away from the massive tails like matchsticks. Everywhere in Konoha and in the forests beyond there were screams of agony and shouts of encouragement; flares of jutsu and bodies tossed carelessly like pebbles, broken and flung from claws and razor-iron jaw as it snarled and wheeled about. Its destruction knew no direction. When anything is that powerful, there is no need for reason, nor for fear. The Kyuubi's massive tails swept to and fro, bruising the land and beating a path further toward the main walls of the village. The adults I knew were there somewhere. They were ants beneath its feet. From the distance at which I watched, they were ants to me. I couldn't hear the roar of crumbling stone, the shriek of bending metal, the thunder of each terrible footfall. But I knew that this thing would kill and kill and kill until we were all mashed lumps of flesh, smeared across the rubble. I knew it instinctively. And for the first time, I felt true terror.**

**A trickle of warmth down one of my legs. Body shaking so badly I would've fallen if I weren't rooted to the spot. Heart a rapid tattoo against my ribs. Breath an uneven pattern of short, sharp exhalations and hisses.**

**A word came to me then. Beautiful. I have never thought anything beautiful since.**

  **The demon's power; my raw fear . . . in that strange moment there didn't seem to be any difference between the two. We both saw the village falling, and the warriors scurrying like ants, from a view high above what forces Konoha could muster to drive it back. It was like I was seeing it all through the beast's crimson eyes.**

**I could not see it, but my own eyes had gone crimson with the gleam of the Sharingan.**

**“ITACHI!” ....someone shouted behind me.**

**A hand grasping my ankle firmly. “GET THE HELL BACK HERE! DO YOU WANT TO DIE?”**

**I recognized the voice. And I looked away from the panorama of destruction before me, breaking the spell.**

**“I don't want to die,” ....I replied, in a tight, strained voice that sounded very little like my own, let alone like a child's.**

**Obediently I crouched down and pushed my way back through the hole. I had only gotten halfway through when rough arms pulled me the rest of the way. I had scraped myself on the rock and it hurt; there was a smear of blood across one cheek. But I soon found my faced pressed against Shisui's chest, so tightly I almost couldn't breathe. It was part relieved embrace and part punishment; he might've cracked my ribs.**

**“Don't get lost again, you little shit,”..... he snarled down at the top of my head.**

**Then his grip on me loosened so that he was only steadying me against him on the ladder, and we began our descent to rejoin the others.**

**I smiled a little in the darkness. It was good he didn't see me smile, because he might have punched me in the face for it. No one ever called me names to my face, because I was too special a child to deserve that. But to Shisui, that day in the tunnel and thereafter, I was a brat who needed a keeper. Yes, I believe I did love him. And I started loving him for that.**

**I didn't know then, or for many years, though, that love was a tool to be used.**

**The war ended. The Kyuubi was vanquished, sealed into the belly of a very stupid child, but I knew nothing of that at the time.**

**The Fourth Hokage, the most powerful man in Konoha, was dead. I stood with my clan at the funeral, beside my father. I cried for the Yondaime, though it was more out of confusion than grief for loss of him. He had seemed so strong to me. I had thought he might live forever. I had thought that the ideals they drummed into our head protecting with our lives would somehow keep us all from dying in the battles we fought by giving us strength of our own. But he was dead.**

**My father stood beside me, tall and dark and grim, and he didn't weep. He was too raw with grief to bear it openly. He only laid a hand on my head, and again it was heavy and I wanted to shake it off. Then he looked down at me. I will never forget how he looked, even now that he's dead and long rotten in the ground.**

**He wore a long black cloak emblazoned with the Uchiha crest, fluttering around him like dark wings. There was a scar across his brow, puckered and ugly with stitches. But that was not what made my breath catch in my throat. His squared jaw, his furrowed brow, his eyes that had once looked softly on me grown cold and purposeful.**

**In the battle, the Uchiha had been sent to the front lines to face down the demon's threat. My uncle,my father's brother; the head of our clan had been killed. This meant two things: the first, that my father was now essentially the leader of the Uchiha. The second, that I was now the heir apparent to his position. In his eyes, in that moment at the funeral, I became his heir and not his Itachi. It was as if his eyes were automatically aging me to manhood, disciplining me to power so that I might lead in his stead one day. He knew I had engaged the Sharingan dojutsu for the first time, when I was watching the battle from the mountainside. Shisui had seen it, and told him. And now I was not a child in his eyes. It wasthat genius that he saw. His prodigy.**

**I, too changed in that moment. I thought, "Chichi-ue" I promise to become powerful.'**

**And I stopped asking why.**

**Life changed after the day of the Yondaime's funeral. I hadn't been in the Academy for much more than a year when my father told me that I'd learned everything there was to learn in school. Whatever part of my childhood was lost when the fourth Hokage died, I still had a child's naivety, and had no real idea whether I really had learned everything. Certainly I knew I wasn't an adult yet. But I also thought I might like it better if I could get out of the classes where everyone hated me for doing well. That was why I never spoke up and told my father how I felt. I trusted him to know what was best.**

**I was only six, but he began to push my teachers to give me the graduation exam prematurely. Unlike the question of my enrollment a year before, this request was flatly denied. My teachers kept repeating that I wasn't ready.**

**My father kept repeating that I was.**

**“You graduated the White Fang's son when he was six!” ...he argued heatedly. “Six! My child is every bit the talent he was and more!”**

**There was a pause, and the Chuunin instructors sitting behind their long panel conferred.**

**“Those were extenuating circumstances,” ....one of them finally told my father, folding his hands composedly in front of him.**

**“Circumstances not excluding the boy's innate genius. Private circumstances, which it would not be proper for us to discuss in this forum.”**

**“You toss the word genius around so easily, and yet you say my child does not compare to that boy?” .....my father retorted.**

**I watched the debates fly between them like knives.**

**Afterward, I asked him, “Chichi-ue, who is the White Fang's son?”**

**“A thief,” ....he replied, “whose very abilities mock the blood of our dead.”**

**Then my father grew stern and tight lipped, and he would speak no further of it.**

**Of course, he'd neglected to mention to my teachers the circumstances of my activation of the Sharingan that I'd done it involuntarily and wouldn't have known I'd done it if Shisui hadn't told me. Privately, he began to instruct me. He would order me to sit facing him in a room by ourselves.**

**“Look at me, Itachi,” .....he said. “No, not like that. I don't want you to see me the way you normally do. Imagine that I'm an enemy, and that you're going to have to fight me with all your strength. That's how you must look at me.”**

**I stared at him hard. I performed this exercise for hours, to no avail. My eyes stayed black.**

**And I stayed in the Academy.**

  **My father wouldn't tell me what my teachers said about me during his last attempts about why I wasn't ready but his frustration communicated itself to me, and as a result I worked myself to exhaustion trying to excel at everything I did in school. My grades were perfect. My techniques were flawless. I was the best in my class, except for Shisui, who was still stronger. But my dojutsu remained dormant.**

**“You aren't focusing, Itachi!” .....my father's fist pounded the table between us, rattling the two cups of tea my mother had brought us. I'd temporarily slipped into a daze; I could hear my little brother crying in the other room, and the soft strains of my mother singing.**

**The sounds seemed a world away from where I was.**

**My father's tea spilled, and immediately I reached over and righted it before its contents could trickle off the table and onto the floor.**

**“Leave it,” ...he said sharply, even though I'd already fixed it. “If you don't put all your heart and all your soul into a goal then you will always fall short.”**

**“Chichi-ue, I'm tired,”.... I complained.**

**It was a moment of weakness; I'd been training unusually hard that day on a taijutsu move Shisui was teaching me, and had pushed my young body too far. I was hitting a growth spurt then, and my bones ached. A little of the tea had burned my hand.**

  **“Good,”.... was his reply. “The greatest goals require sacrifice. Don't ever forget that, Itachi. No power without a price; no strength without cost.”.... It was an old shinobi saying.**

**I never forgot it.**

**We trained long into the night, until I literally collapsed. My father carried me to bed.**

**A year passed like this. Shisui felt sorry for me, I think. Especially since he'd been the one to start it all by reporting my Sharingan episode. That was why he took the time to train with me, even when he himself was worn to the bone. And he was even gruffer with me, because he didn't want me to know he pitied me.**

**O** **ne time he found me sitting outside my house on the porch, all by myself. It was late at night, and even my father was asleep.**

**“Itachi, what're you doing up?” ....he demanded, squatting down in front of the stoop to look me in the eye.**

**His bangs flopped across his eyes, and he blew hard with his mouth to push them back.**

**“Pffh. Don't tell me you're running away; you pack too light.”.....he nodded toward the knapsack next to my legs on the steps. It wasn't very full.**

**Without a word I emptied the sack on the porch to show him what I'd brought. A dozen kunai clattered to the wood, ringing off each other where they collided. We both stared at them in silence for a minute.**

“ **I can't sleep,” ....I finally explained. “I'm going to train.”**

**He sighed, slouching back on his heels until his rear end rested on the ground. The next thing I knew, he was twiddling a kunai by the handle between his middle and indexdex fingers. He'd moved so swiftly I hadn't even seen the blur his arm became when he took it. I stared at the weapon in his hand, mesmerized.**

**“I can't wait to be able to do that,”.... I murmured wistfully.**

**Shisui sighed again and stood up, pocketing the kunai. “I have a better idea. Come with me. I'll show you something good.”**

**I gathered all my kunai into the sack and stuffed it under the porch. Then I followed him away from the house. In those days I trusted Shisui without fail. He always knew what I'd like best, even when I didn't know what I wanted.**

**We walked together down the wide streets of the Uchiha compound under a gentle half-moon. The place was near to empty, for most of those in my clan worked hard and retired early. The only person who was awake to see us was one of my distant cousins, Yuu a forty-year-old drunk who always sat quietly at the bar stand he frequented late at night. He'd been that way since he lost his son, which was only a few months before the Kyuubi's attack. He watched Shisui and I pass without a word. His eyes were watery and rimmed with a red that had nothing to do with the Sharingan.**

**No one stopped us from going on our way. Other times, the few who did see us saw no need. They all trusted Shisui with me; for all his rough edges he was well-liked.**

**That night Shisui took me to a bridge, which spanned the part of the river's course that ran through the Uchiha compound. We jumped up onto the stone wall on one side of the bridge and stood there, gazing down at the water. It sparkled with fragments of the moon.**

**“Are we going to swim?” .....I asked, pointing downward.**

**Shisui gave a short, barking laugh,a laugh I liked because it was full of boyish arrogance but at the same time it meant he had something really interesting in mind.**

**“I'm not here to swim,”.... he declared, throwing his head back proudly. “But you may end up swimming at first, so prepare yourself.”**

**“What do I do?”.... I asked, trusting him.**

**“Follow me,”.... he said simply and he jumped.**

**He landed on his feet atop the water, with only the softest of splashes. My mouth fell open. This was something I'd seen adults do, and some of the teenagers, but he was still a Genin. He looked up at me and grinned, then hopped gently up and down a few times as if springing on a mattress. Then he pointed up at my feet.**

**"C'mon, Itachi. It's easy. You just draw chakra into the soles, and pretty soon you don't even have to think about it! It's like running down the street.”.....and he started to run.**

**Not far; he was just jogging, really. But I was suddenly struck with fear that he was going to run away.**

**Well . . . that wasn't precisely it. It was it felt like he was going to leave me behind. I didn't want to be a little boy, standing on a bridge by myself in the middle of the night, just because I was too small and too unskilled to follow him. That was why I jumped.**

**I landed with a raucous splash and sank a good four feet. But I didn't try to swim, even though instinct compelled me to. I held my breath, gathering chakra into my feet like he'd instructed.**

**I never did find out if gathering chakra in your feet underwater could have made me rise to the surface. The next thing I knew, a pair of thin, wiry hands hauled me upward. He'd grabbed me by the hair with one hand and by the arm with the other, and I let out a gasp as I was hauled back into the cold night air.**

**“Ow!” ....I sputtered, clawing at the hand gripping my hair. “Put me down!”**

**Shisui set me down, letting go of my hair.**

**“How dumb can you get?”..... he railed at me. “You're supposed to summon the chakra into your feet beforeyou jump, not after! And if you fall in water, every idiot knows you're supposed to swim to the surface,not try and finish the damn jutsu while you sink!”**

**My eyes had teared up from the pain, but Shisui misinterpreted it.**

**“Hell, I didn't bring you just to stand there and blubber,” .....he grumbled, scratching at the back of his head, which he always did when he realized he'd been too harsh with me. “And you are standing, by the way. Look down.”**

**I looked down, blinking in surprise. I was. I'd still had chakra concentrated in my feet when he pulled me up, and now my feet were resting comfortably on top of the water, as if I were standing on thick carpet. I jumped up and down, experimenting, and found I no longer sank.**

**“You did it,” ....Shisui murmured, but there was the faintest shadow of a false note in his praise that I didn't fail to miss.**

  **I always learned more about what people were really thinking by what they didn't say than by what they said. Tall and lanky and beginning to be fine-looking, staring down at a slight little brat a head shorter than he was even with these differences between us, even when he had the upper hand, Shisui was a little jealous. I think he'd secretly hoped I would fail many times at first, so he could teach me.**

**In that sense, I suppose, love is just another form of power struggle.**

**I didn't hate him for his jealousy, though. In a way, I owed my swift mastery of water-walking to Shisui because he'd pulled me out of the water.**

**“Let's race now,”.... I told him.**

**I was cold and wet, and keen on plunging right into practical use of my newjutsu.**

**The shadow faded from his face, and he smirked. “You know you can't keep up with me, Itachi.”**

**“Not yet,”.... I countered. “I'll grow long legs like yours.”**

**Shisui pulled a swift about-face and took off running.**

**“Ha! You're a hundred years too early, Itachi!”.... he called as he went, voice trailing behind him like the wind. “Just try and beat me!”**

**Pressing my lips together in determination, I sped after him. Until the moon set, he and I went careening through Konoha's canals, kicking up runnels of water in our wake. I never did beat him, but I believe he did slow down because he didn't want to lose me.**

**By the time I'd reached the age of seven, I was still enrolled in the Academy, and my father had given up on an early graduation in disgust.**

**“But it's alright, Itachi,” .....he told me one day over dinner. “I know it's not because you're behind. In the meantime, we'll play to your strengths.”**

**I had no idea what he meant by this, but I was always willing to learn. The next morning, a weekend, he took me down to the lake behind our house before the sun had risen. There was a long wooden dock there and nothing else. No boat. No trees, either. I swiftly learned why this was so. My father formed a quick series of seals with his fingers, then quietly named the technique. He inhaled deeply and blew. The next thing I knew, the soft blue shadows of pre-dawn were banished by a great wall of flame, hurtling across the air over the lake. My eyes grew very large, even though it was like looking at the sun. I froze.**

**When at last it had dispelled, my father turned and looked down at me. His eyes narrowed briefly. “It's not something to fear, Itachi,” he told me. “It is the fire technique, Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu. A precursor to even greater jutsu, which like the Sharingan are the pride of our clan.”**

**“I want to learn,”..... I breathed. His expression softened, and he actually smiled. “That's my child,” he said.**

**The Sharingan lessons stopped. I think this was largely due to an argument he'd had with my mother the prior week, which she'd won. She told him I wasn't eating enough, and there were shadows under my eyes. She told him a boy should not have shadows under his eyes. My father relented. He did love me, after all. It was just buried under layers of duty and responsibility, like skin under scar tissue. It was not an easy time to be head of the Uchiha.**

**The village was in the process of being rebuilt after the Kyuubi disaster. The Hokage was dead. The elder Sandaime had been pressed upon to come out of retirement and resume his position. I didn't care much who took the place of the Fourth I had stopped caring after he died. The Third, I learned ten years later, died in much the same way, which didn't surprise me. The Fourth had to have learned the folly of throwing his life away from someone; presumably it was from his Sensei.**

**The Uchiha had suffered heavy losses in numbers many sons and fathers, who were our mainstays because the women could not activate the Sharingan. As I said before, the Uchiha were sent to the front lines. We were more expendable than the Hyuuga, because we'd been bred to be expendable. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Needless to say, my father had his hands full managing Konoha's policing forces. It was no real fault of his that he never knew what was really going on in my head.**

**I think he began our early morning training sessions because he felt guilty about not having time for his family. I didn't care one way or the other, really. But I was happy, because I was growing stronger every day. And I was beginning to wonder where all this was leading. After all, I couldn't just keep getting stronger forever. There had to be an end to these means. Otherwise, what was the point?**

**My thin arms grew taut with muscle. I lost what baby fat I'd had left and took on a lean, wiry look that wasn't very pleasing to the eye.**

**“You're starting to look a lot like your cousin,”.... my mother remarked one day over breakfast. “Lanky. And your hair---how can you see through that?”**

**My hair had grown shaggy and unkempt because I was always out the door for training before she could get a proper look at me. “Come here, Itachi,” ...she ordered. “I'll cut your bangs.”**

**She took her time doing so, chatting pleasant motherly things that are half-advice and half affectionate fussing. She told me I mustn't take my father's sternness toward me so seriously. She told me I needed to eat more because my cheeks were getting hollow. She told me I ought to take a day off from training once in a while to spend time with my brother. As if he knew what she was admonishing, Sasuke toddled over to me while she moved around to trim the hair on the back of my head. He was not quite two years old, but already he had a thick head of black Uchiha hair and bright black eyes.**

**He reached stubby arms toward me, saying, “Ah, ah, Chi.”**

**“He wants in your lap,” ...my mother translated.**

**I let him climb into my lap, looking down at him while my mother's gentle hands trimmed the hair at the nape of my neck. He turned around and settled in with his warm back cradled against my chest, as if he belonged there. It was strange to me that such a small, soft creature would want to be close to me like this. It felt like he would break if I weren't careful. It made me nervous, having him trust me that much.**

**Another year rolled by. I took none of my mother's advice to heart.**

**And I got into my first fight.**

**I don't know how anyone found out my teachers were actually beginning to give consideration to graduating me. I didn't even know about it. They were watching me closely, those days, my teachers. Only I never realized how close until I'd made what could have been the greatest mistake of my life.**

**y** **ou didn't speak to the Hyuuga unless they spoke to you. They were aloof and haughty, though the village treated them like hothouse plants and they were rarely sent on the more dangerous missions. Their children were quiet, arrogant brats with the power to stop your heart in one strike of the hand. They were even more admired than the Uchiha, but not as popular because they were so unapproachable.**

**That day, one of them approached me.**

**“You're the one they call genius, aren't you?” he asked me in cold, clipped tones. I won't do him the honor of mentioning his name, because he certainly never mentioned mine. That would have been too much of an acknowledgement of someone as lowly as I.**

**“I'm Uchiha Itachi,”..... I replied tensely.**

**“I can see you're an Uchiha; you've no need to announce it,” ....he snapped.**

**He was a head taller than me, and though pale his body had the hard look of ice the sort of glacial ice that can be struck but not easily shattered. Like all the Hyuuga, he had pale eyes and dark hair, but unlike the others he wore his hair cropped short. I knew this was a sign of mourning---I'd seen it on my own clan members after the Kyuubi's attack. We stood there a moment, taking the measure of each other. Then he nodded as if he'd confirmed something.**

**“Follow me,” ....he said.**

**We went around the back of the school building, to the ranges where we trained for taijutsu. There were rows and rows of wood boards, pockmarked with kunai holes. There was a clearing beyond the range dotted with trees and bushes, for basic stealth and evasion techniques. I followed the Hyuuga boy into the alley of the range.**

**There was no need for him to tell me what he wanted. But while he was burning with an anger so cold I could almost see the white flames dancing off him, I felt . . . nothing. It was a curious thing. I'd had many teachers; I followed him now because I was curious to see what he could teach me.**

**He struck the first blow. He rushed at me with cold fury, crossing both arms over his chest in what I thought was preparation for a series of punching moves we'd recently learned in taijutsu class. I prepared to block.**

**Then he uncurled his fists, and I realized what he was actually doing only as the two kunai sang past my face, scratching my brow on one side and my cheek on the other. Even then, I was so surprised I didn't move until I felt the first sting, and the first blood droplet bead on my temple. Until he was already drawing more kunai from his holster.**

**An ordinary child might have remained frozen in shock, demanded to know why this was happening. I was not an ordinary child. And I pushed the fear aside, understanding that he was not doing this to kill me, but to humiliate me. He was jealous. Also, I don't know what loss he'd suffered, but grief has a way of distorting emotions, skewing reason.**

**I didn't understand grief at that point, and I harbored no compassion for him. My thoughts became focused on the here and now I cared nothing for what he was feeling, and neither did I stop to wonder at the fact that I felt no fear. I was a scene from a play, directed by instinct.**

**I'm not armed. He means to kill me. I must run, assess, strike from behind a shield . . .**

**I was off in a flash. He laughed as I fled. Didn't even chase me as I darted behind one of the target walls. Didn't see that my pretense at stumbling was actually what bought me time to catch up the two kunaihe'd thrown in a perfect, swift sleight of hand. Shisui's training; I'd finally mastered that one.**

**“You can't win, Uchiha!” .....he called, practically spitting out my clan name. “It's not in your blood.”**

**Even as I began to formulate a strategy for action, I also thought that this was an odd thing for him to say.**

**“What do you mean by that?”.... I called back." I have two kunai. If I throw both at once, I'll have no kunai again and have to go out into the open to get them."....he was walking slowly toward the target wall behind which I hid.**

**“The Uchiha were supposed to be stronger to us,” ....he replied in a low voice.**

**“But instead you fell short.”.....as he said the word short, he flung one of his kunai.**

**It struck the wood target at head level with such impact that the point sank through. I could see it glint on my side of the wall.**

**I could not make heads or tails of his meaning, but I decided that trying to figure out the meaning was stupid and pointless. Reason had no place here.**

**“BYAKUUGAN!” ....he shouted.**

**My body tensed. I knew what that was, but I hadn't ever seen it before.**

**“I can see you,”.... he said, in quieter tones.**

**He was approaching the target. I saw the sunlight between the slats of wood blocked as he laid a hand on it. He could see me like the wood wasn't even there. It was like he was touching me.**

**Instinctively, I backed away. But there wasn't far to go in that direction.**

**He drew in a deep, shaky breath. He wrenched the kunai from the target.**

**He said to me, “You're going to pay for what I've lost.” .....he said this without a single break in his voice, in the even tones of the mad.**

**I knew as soon as he took back the knife that he was going to come for me. That was when I ran.**

**There was nothing spectacular about that fight, I suppose. It was more of a chase, really. But I wasn't running with no reason. I recalled something my father had told me: Always look for the advantage. It's there. And it won't present itself to you; you must reach out and take it. Sacrifice for it.**

**There's always a price.**

**I paid with my pride, running away from my first enemy. But what I bought with my pride was the advantage. I lured him into the clearing, and then beyond that into the trees. There I vanished from view.**

**H** **e didn't know the art of the Gentle Fist, fortunately, because I might have been killed that day. But hewas deadly quick with his hands and, consequentially, his kunai. His searchlight eyes swung this way and that as he stalked me through the forest. He didn't see me until he finally looked up, standing beneath the branch below which I was perched. With chakra gathered in my feet, I stood upside down. I aimed my kunai straight for his throat and threw.**

**The clash of metal on metal rang through the forest. Materializing as if out of nowhere, one of the Academy had appeared between the Hyuuga boy and my knife. He had raised his own kunai in time to block mine, and he was looking straight at me. I stared down at him, frozen. He wasn't one of myteachers, but I'd seen him before. An Uchiha. His eyes upon me were cold and searching.**

**“Uchiha Itachi,” .....he said. “Come with me.”**

**I began walking down the tree trunk at a calm pace. The Hyuuga boy watched me with a deep frown; I doubted he could do what I was doing the tree-walking, that is. I wanted him to watch me. Once I was level with the ground, I intended to walk past him as if I didn't see him. Because he didn't see me.**

**You only see That Genius. Well, I don't see YOU then. I REFUSE to see you.**

**I intended to walk down the tree trunk and step onto the grass. Instead, the world reeled and went dark.** **I woke up again in bed, at home. I could hear shouting from another room. Which one, I couldn't tell. Our house had thick walls. I was alone. Slowly, I sat up. My head hurta little, and my fingers' exploration of it told me that there was a small square of gauze taped over one eyebrow and part of my temple. There was another, even smaller strip on my other cheek. Carefully, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood. Everything seemed to work. Quietly, I opened my door and crept down the hall.**

**They were in the receiving room, my father and the school administrators.**

**“I can't believe,” ......he said, in a low voice, “that it took this to open your eyes.”**

**“As I've said, we're doing this on the condition that Setsuna-sensei takes the boy on. We want him watched.”**

**A brusque, huffing noise.**

**My father, impatient to be off that topic. “You'll find him beyond reproof. He's not to blame for who's jealous of him.”**

**Quiet. My mother's voice, murmuring something. My father sighed.**

**“It's agreed, then,” ....said another voice a man's; smooth and grave. “I'll look after him well, Cousin.” .....a pause. “A genius like him doesn't belong at the Academy with children, anyway.”**

**“And the Hyuuga?” ......my father's voice, angry again.**

**I didn't want to hear more. I suddenly felt dizzy, and a little sick. And I felt a tugging at my pants leg.**

**“'Nii-san?”....turning and looking down, I saw Sasuke standing there, looking up at me with wide eyes."'Nii-san, why is `Tou-san yelling? Is it `cause you're hurt?”**

**I don't know if I wished that was the reason or not. I didn't like to be fussed over. But perhaps it was the genius they were discussing. Those days I couldn't be sure anymore.**

**I forced a smile and took his little hand, leading him away from the hall. “Go to your bed and sleep,”..... I told him.**

**He hesitated, standing in the doorway of his room. Looked back at me. “'Nii-san, sleep too. You'll get better, and be strong again.”**

**I turned on my heel and went back to my room without answering him. I did sleep, though. For two days. As if my body were trying to answer my mind's wish to sleep forever.** **I healed, of course. The Hyuuga's kunai had chipped my skull, giving me a concussion, but it wasn't anything permanent. And as soon as I'd made a full recovery, I found myself officially graduated and already assigned a Genin team. The other two were boys the son of a medical ninja, and a son of the Aburame clan. Our leader was the Jounin Uchiha Setsuna, my father's cousin. He had personally offered to quit his position at the school to be my sensei.**

**I flourished under his instruction, of course. He was brilliant. A tall, grave man who smiled rarely, and when he did it never reached his eyes. A genius, who was drawn to geniuses. I didn't like him. Out of all my team members, I really only got along with Aburame Akito. Kabuto watched me too closely. I never felt I could trust him.**

**Several months passed. We trained; we executed menial missions. Then a Chuunin exam was hosted in Konoha.**

**My team, though not bound by anything that could be called ties of friendship, made it through the Forest of Death easily. Other teams weren't so fortunate; there were only three teams left to compete in the finals afterward. The Hyuuga who hated me was among them. We were paired, and sent into the arena.**

**Since I had last faced him, I had not only become quicker but gained two very important techniques:Ryuuka no Jutsu, and its successor, Karyuu Endan.**

**He had learned the art of the Gentle Fist, and others as well, and tried to engage me in close combat. I let him strike me, with the intent of entangling him in wires of chakra strung out from my fingers. When I fell he backed off a little, gloating. He told me that it was the fate of the weak to die. But I rose to my feet and sprang my trap. The wires around his neck tightened like a garrote. The maneuver stunned him at first; his eyes bulged, and blood began to trickle from his throat. Before he could even react swiftly enough to sever the wires with chakra points on his own hands, I inhaled deeply and breathed fire. It went roiling along the lengths of the wires, to his head.**

**His face melted.**

**He was thrashing, smothering on his own melting skin. Dimly, I was aware of the Jounin overseeing the match calling frantically for medical ninja to attend, and for me to let go of the wires. I did. My enemy fell. I stood there as if in a dream, watching the blaze die and disperse into the air, smelling the sweet sickening scent of burning flesh. I didn't know what to feel. The crowd above was utterly silent, transfixed with horror. I wanted to vomit, but I didn't. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to watch. I had done this; it was only fitting that I suffer through watching it to its completion. I think, in the end, Setsuna-sensei had to force me to leave the field, so they could . . . clean up for the next match.**

**My eyes were red with the Sharingan, and it was not until I was gone from the field that they returned to normal. Later that night, alone in my room, I looked at my reflection in my window and was able to summon the Sharingan again, at will. The Hyuuga boy had been right, and I had indeed learned something from him: It is the fate of the weak to die. And as I looked at myself in the window, I fingered the scars on my face and smiled faintly. I knew, then. He had died because I was more powerful. All along, I'd hated him more.**

**They would not name me Chuunin. Out of my team, only Akito passed. I began to see less and less of my home and of Shisui, for despite the fact that I hadn't made next rank requests were pouring in for my team's services. I might have horrified the crowd watching my match, but they certainly had faith in my abilities.**

**My Sharingan talents, as if making up for lost time, blossomed quickly. My father was proud. He wanted me to take over his position, after all, and I'd proven myself in his eyes even if I wasn't a Chuunin.**

**“You know, Itachi-kun,” ...Kabuto told me once, “The Sandaime is the one opposing your promotion to Chuunin.”**

**I frowned, bemused by this. I was strong, wasn't I? What else was there to prove?**

**Kabuto answered my unasked question slyly: “Maybe he's afraid of you. People always want to hold back what they don't understand.”....he had meant to goad me then; I wasn't naive enough to be without suspicion. I said nothing in reply.**

**I threw myself into missions. But I was beginning to doubt. If strength wasn't enough for those who watched me, judged me . . . then why was I becoming stronger? It seemed pointless. I had no goal to set, though everyone commended me for what I did because I did it well.**

**Of course, a boy grasping desperately about for reason eventually finds it, doesn't he? It just isn't always the answer everyone wishes he would find.**

**When I was ten, there came a contract for a mission that was to change the course of my life. I was to go with Setsuna-sensei and Kabuto to one of the bordering fiefdoms of the Fire Country, to assassinate a feudal lord. That was where I met Orochimaru.** **It was a bold mission. A dangerous mission. Even my father was opposed to it.**

**“I want him here to work with me,” ....he argued, and I could see the hands resting composedly in his lap wanted very much to clench into fists.**

 

**I knelt beside him in the receiving room. I'd come to hate that room; whenever I was summoned to it I was always the prodigy, the potential, the object in question. But that night I could see the worry in the lines of my father's face, and knew from what he wasn't saying that he was speaking of me and not the other. My heart thawed a little.**

**“You are the one holding him back, Cousin,” ....Setsuna countered.**

**My Sensei was an austere man, thin faced and tall, with streaks of white in his close-cropped hair. He was older than my father, and more cynical. But he was a shrewd man. And he was right.**

**I tilted my head to one side, staring quizzically at Setsuna as I waited for my father to explain his reasoning.**

**“What is it you fear he will do, Cousin?” ....my Sensei asked when my father kept silent. “He's your son, of whom you're proud. He is being offered a great opportunity to prove himself not just to the Village, but to the Fire Country lords.”**

**And my father looked down at me kneeling beside him, just as he had looked down at me on the day of the Fourth Hokage's funeral. Only this time, there was something new in his eyes. The lines in his face deepened. What I saw there shocked me so much that I couldn't speak. I could scarcely breathe.**

  **He was afraid for me. Deeply so.**

**“Itachi is only ten years old, but he has already killed,” ...he said, turning away from me abruptly to hide his fear.**

**“Fairly, honorably, justly, in battle. And of that I am proud.” ....I knew he was referring to the Hyuuga boy I had fought in the Chuunin exam arena.**

**He didn't sound as proud as he'd been before. “But this . . .” he went on. “To slit a man's throat in dead of night, with blood cool as steel . . .” ....he looked at Setsuna for a moment as if he hated him. “My son is not ready.”**

**Setsuna's retort came like a whiplash. “Why are we born, Cousin? Tell me!”**

**Then he answered his own question. “Shinobi are born to kill. Whatever the reason---protection, offense, malice, revenge it is still called killing. If you wish to view death as a taint, then your son is already tainted. Stop trying to bind him to the clan to keep him naïve.”**

**My father pounded the floor with his fist. The wood cracked a little.**

**“My son's duty is to the clan! Itachi is to follow the path to leadership!” ....his temper had ignited. “His genius belongs to the clan! He is alreadystrong and sharp of mind. He is already cold enough without clearing this hurtle you wish to set before him!” ....there my father stopped, realizing what he'd just said in front of me.**

  **Setsuna's eyes flickered; even he was shocked, and for a moment he looked at me pityingly.**

**But his next words were cruel. “That's what's holding him back, Cousin. And it has nothing to do with killing. In the Academy, I heard much about the case the instructors used to keep him from early graduation. In the Chuunin exam judging, do you know what they told me? Itachi's behavior is solitary and ruthless. He has not forged any bonds through teamwork. It is through missions, Cousin, that he will learn leadership, for to be a leader one must first know how to form bonds with others. You can't give him that by forcing him to stay in your shadow.”**

**Setsuna was not a kind man, but he was an honest one. And once again, he was right.**

**“I want to go, Chichi-ue,” ....I volunteered.**

**My tone was firm, and my gaze unwavering as I looked up at him. “Setsuna-sensei will not allow harm to befall me.” .....a pause. “I can't lead if I remain a Genin forever.”**

**And my father folded. The reasoning against him was near to flawless, even though in his gut he sensed pending danger.**

**Plans were laid. Setsuna-sensei left. I rose to leave as well.**

**“Your eyes are an adult's,” ....my father said quietly.**

**I turned. He was still kneeling on the floor.**

  **“You've become old before your time, and with what you plan to go and do you will no doubt become even older.” ....his gaze was grave and heavy as a hand resting atop y head. “I'm sorry, Itachi.”**

**I was well aware that he was apologizing for many things besides the mission and the cruel words he'd let slip.**

**“Don't be,”... I replied, shaping my lips into a smile to make him happy. “I'm just an old soul.” I**

**Forgive you for your cruelty, Chichi-ue, but I am what I've become. If you want me to forgive you for that, you're too late.**

**The night before I left, while I lay awake in my bed staring at the ceiling, I heard the soft noise of feet moving down the hall. Then there came an even softer tapping on my door. Really, he would soon enter the Academy; he ought to have been stealthier.**

**But I whispered, “Come in, Sasuke.”**

  **He slid open the wood panel and stood there in the doorway rubbing his eyes with one fist. He was five.**

**“'Nii-san, I had a bad dream,” .....he mumbled.**

**I sat up cross-legged in bed, flinging off the covers. It was too warm for them, anyway. “A nightmare? What do you expect me to do about it?”**

**He walked a little further into the room, looking miserable. “There was a ghost in my room,” ......he insisted and his eyes were huge.**

**“All right.” ...I sighed; it was obvious he wasn't going to leave me in peace anytime soon. “You can sleep in here. But you are not to make noise. I leave very early in the morning.”**

**He climbed in with me and immediately claimed the middle for his space. This left me with just the edge, and my back pressed against his. But Sasuke obeyed me and kept quiet, and eventually his breath evened out into the slow measure of sleep. Meanwhile, my thoughts cycled back to what I'd been pondering before he came.**

**"I'm going to kill a man. But this isn't going to be a battle. It won't be "Him or me,'".....I wondered how we would be expected to do it."Poison? A knife across the throat, in the dark? In front of his own children?"**

**It was a horrid dichotomy of awareness, mulling over something like that while I could feel the gentle rising and falling of my brother's back against my own. I hated that feeling; it made me want to pretend Sasuke wasn't lying there that I was alone. And it made me sick to my stomach at the same time, because I knew the small, warm person who lay dreaming beside me was my brother, who loved me even though he knew nothing of what was in my head.**

**In the dark hours before dawn, when the shadows were still lightening from indigo to blue, I slid away from that warmth and comfort. I lifted my pack full of honed kunai and shuriken, careful not to let them clink against each other lest Sasuke hear and wake. And I slipped out into the quiet streets without bidding anyone farewell.**

**Inhaling the brisk autumn chill outside sharpened my awareness. Alone, I didn't have to think about difficult things like the love I didn't feel, or about where my strength was leading me. There was only the mission ahead.**

**If you empty yourself of everything, killing is easy.**

**The journey to the location of our target was not as easy as I'd expected. Lord Gyoichi was an old man whose lands bordered the northernmost part of the Fire Country. These lands were a patchwork of rice paddies where cultivated and stinking marshes where left fallow. We were forced to travel through the latter, because keeping to the roads would expose us to Gyoichi's spies.**

**Kabuto either knew more about the situation we were heading into than Setsuna-sensei did, or Setsuna was just keeping quiet to let him do all the work explaining. Regardless, I listened to my teammate expound on the mission profile with interest. Kabuto was the sort who watched everything intently and rarely opened his mouth without good reason.**

  **“Like most tyrants everyone wishes would die, Gyoichi-sama is seventy years old and still in the best of health,”.... he told me, as we waded waist-deep through brackish water and reeds higher than our heads. “He has overstepped his bounds once too many times, `appropriating' lands that don't belong to him, squandering their resources, and then leaving their residents to starve. But do you know what I think, Itachi-kun? I think killing him isn't going to solve anything.”**

**On Kabuto's other side, Aburame Akito sloshed through the fen in silence, ignoring us both. Our teammate, whom we had not expected to be available to come with us, had returned early from his previous mission and now found himself traveling in our company. He obviously wasn't happy about being called away again so soon. He was fourteen and he had a girlfriend.**

**Emboldened by the fact that he had an audience from me if not from Akito, Kabuto went on to say, “The problem with land disputes is that this country is run by feudal lords, who are greedy. When Gyoichi is dead, one just as bad will take his place. He has a son who will soon be old enough to rule.”**

**I mulled this over for a while. What I came up with in the end was probably the worst possible thing I could've said in front of my Sensei.**

**“The problem probably isn't that the feudal lords are corrupt; it's that they're ruling in the first place. They divide countries into even smaller parts, even though all the countries are already divided, making wars both inside and beyond their borders.”... I paused, considering, and then went on, making it worse. “But even that problem comes from another. Civilians don't know how to use power like shinobi, because the only power they have lies in land and wealth. They're greedy, and they make wars to get what they want. But once they get what they want, it only solves their problems and not their peoples'. They're like children who need a keeper.”**

**“Uchiha Itachi!”.....I shut my mouth.**

**Setsuna-sensei was glaring at me. “That is precisely the attitude that makes our kind hated and feared in some places. Arrogance like that is dangerous,dangerous to have, for it binds you with the illusion that having power makes you wise. We are not superior to those we're obligated to protect.”**

**I had no answer to that. Yet.**

**But Kabuto said softly, “Then why, when they've a dire need to be saved from themselves, do they summon us?”**

**“Shinobi are a grand mistake,” ....Setsuna said icily, returning his sharp gaze to the terrain ahead. “Without the focus of serving the needs of others, we would destroy each other. Ponder that, you two, whenever such stupid ideas arise in your heads. And don't waste the air I breathe by speaking of them again.”**

**We reached Gyoichi's fortress that night. I wasn't the one who killed him; Setsuna-sensei did. But I saw him do it. And I learned something very unusual about him in the process.**

  **It was to be done swiftly and quietly, and no one was to know Konoha had a hand in it. This meant no mark left on the body, for as hated as this lord was the slightest evidence would point to engineered assassination. Or, rather, no mark was to be left that would indicate professionals had done it. We were meant to make it appear to be murder.**

**Committed by the lord's own son.**

**Setsuna was to infiltrate the fortress first, together with Akito. Akito was essential for that because he could use his bugs to spy, and because Setsuna needed to conserve his strength for use of the Sharingan at the key moment. Then Akito was to send me a signal, and I was to join Setsuna while Kabuto and Akito provided diversions in two separate locations.**

**The infiltration was to last until nightfall. In the meantime, Kabuto and I had to spend the day hiding in the marsh. Crouching on low tree branches while surrounded by stinking, stagnant bog was something I could bear with stoicism. Kabuto, on the other hand, always brought out the worst in me.**

**“You're pretty powerful, aren't you, Itachi?” ....he remarked, squatting beside me on the branch. “Even training with you, I don't think I've seen everything you can do.”**

**Mosquitoes whined around our heads, trying to find places to alight and stick their needles through the layers of mesh and cloth and bandages that we wore. I slapped at them, ignoring Kabuto.**

**But he was persistent. “Don't missions like this bore you?” .....he asked me.**

**This time I spared him a glance. “Missions are important. Even if they're boring, they're a means to an end. In case you didn't notice, neither of us has earned our Chuunin rank yet.”**

**“I don't care what title they call us by,” ....Kabuto snapped. “I'm talking about what you can do.”**

**I could tell he did care. He'd been acting oddly ever since he failed the Chuunin exam, losing his temper on occasion, which wasn't something he normally did.**

**“I know what I can do,”..... I told him curtly, to shut him up. “That's good enough.”**

**I didn't want him questioning me further, or he'd discern that I'd been wondering the same thing all along.**

**Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately, from the vast perspective of fate Akito's signal came at that moment. A tiny winged beetle, circling repeatedly around us.**

**“Let's go,”..... I told Kabuto, and together we jumped off the branch and made our way northward onto firmer ground.**

**From there we were to follow the road to a small gate on the fortress' eastern side, where Akito's bugs had killed the guards in such a way that no attention was drawn to the attack.**

**The road led us up a hill, and would have led us directly down the other side to the gate if there hadn't been a man blocking the way. He was standing at the top of the hill, with his back to us and his hands clasped thoughtfully behind him. As soon as we saw him we took cover in the bushes alongside the road; if he saw us he might have alerted the castle. Then we moved with what must have been almost no sound or betraying glimpse.**

**But the man in the road addressed us before we could skirt round him. “You're here to join the other two within the fortress,” he said loudly, without turning around. He wore soft gray robes and sandals stained with mud, and his long black hair hung down his back in greasy strings. However, for all his humble appearances he bore the air of a man in control of his situation. His back was straight, and his speech unhurried. And his words had not been a question.**

**Kabuto and I, sensing that this was not a man to be trifled with, leaped from our concealment to stand behind him on the road.**

**“Who are you?” .....Kabuto asked him. One hand slid surreptitiously into his kunai pouch.**

**“Two children,” .....the man said, without turning around. “You're both young. Genin, I don't doubt, given the rash way you address me. But I almost didn't notice you, so you must be skilled; you must be nearing Chuunin rank. Well on your way to becoming lapdogs of Konoha.”**

**After this speech, he fell silent, waiting to see what effect his goading might have had.**

**“What Village are you from?”... I asked him, laying a warning hand on Kabuto's elbow to keep him from actually drawing a kunai.**

**I saw no need to ask if the stranger was a shinobi or not; that he had taken notice of our passage indicated that he was.**

**Finally, perhaps because my question wasn't one he deemed stupid, the man turned around. I saw that he had a pale, narrow face, a wide, sneering mouth, and eyes that regarded me with the slit-thin gaze of a snake feigning sleep. He was smiling.**

**And he wore no hitae ate.**

  **“How foolish,”.... he said. “What Village you come from doesn't make you who you are.”**

**The narrowed eyes slid sideways to Kabuto at my side, then back to me, dismissing my teammate.**

**“You are an Uchiha,”.... he observed, looking at me more intently now.**

**There was a hungry look in his eye that I immediately disliked I was a boy who knew very well how people looked when they wanted something from you.**

**“You're from Konoha,”.... I replied.**

**I don't know how I knew that, even to this day. It wasn't because he knew I was an Uchiha---in those days the clan was internationally famous. Possibly it was because he hadn't answered my question, and because he spoke aloud with the same air of malcontent I'd just been beginning to feel. It was the air of a man who'd cast aside all fetters chaining him to what he'd once been.**

**“I was from Konoha,” .....he agreed. “But now I'm here. I'm waiting for the fireworks to start.”**

**This time I drew my own weapon from its pouch. “What do you know?” ....I asked in a low voice.**

**He knew something of my team's agenda; I was sure of it. And I was prepared to silence him if need be.**

**We stared each other down for a moment; myself tense and ready, he more like a man eyeing a dog he thinks may bite him.**

**“Itachi-kun . . .” ....Kabuto sounded, for once, as if he had no idea what to do.**

**A slow smile spread across the stranger's thin lips. One corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. “Your eyes, boy,”..... he said. “Aren't you the eager one?”**

**I had activated the Sharingan without realizing it. I didn't relax my stance.**

**He laughed, short and harsh. “Keh. What if I were to tell you, boy, that I have no intention of stopping you from killing Gyoichi-sama? That I support the noble intentions of your mission? Will you just go around me without doing anything?” ......he tilted his head to one side, curiously. “Or will you kill me anyway, because you want to?”**

**Finally, I straightened, though I kept my knife in hand. “I don't want to kill you.”**

**The stranger laughed, as if at some private joke. “Oh, but your eyes say you do. I shall let you pass, anyway, of course. I want to see this pathetic excuse for a feudal lord die, as well.”**

**I nodded briskly, turning away from him and motioning for Kabuto to follow me. I was grateful that our mission required haste from us, because I didn't like the way those snake-slit eyes looked at me.**

**“Are you sure you won't regret letting me live?”.... the stranger asked slyly as we passed him by. “What if your mission is wrong, and killing the tyrant will make things worse in the future? What if I told you I'm glad you're the ones sullying your hands because otherwise I'd have to?”**

**I didn't give him the satisfaction of a backward glance.**

**Kabuto did, though. “We have no reason to kill you,” ......he countered. “Don't ask pointless questions.”**

**I could hear the grin in the stranger's voice as he answered: “Reason, boy, is a very subjective thing. In the end, it all comes down to what you really want and what you have the balls to reach out and take.”**

**We crested the hill and started downward, leaving him behind.**

**Two hours later, Aburame Akito and Uchiha Setsuna were dead, a new country had been formed, and in Kabuto the seeds of treason had been sown.**

**“Sensei, your eyes......”...... I whispered, frowning.**

**“We'll speak of it later,” ......Setsuna cut me off, slicing his hand through the air in negation. “Remember your task.”**

  **My task was simple enough. We were huddled in an alcove down a long stone hall from the room where Gyoichi and his son were taking the evening meal. My body was taut with nerves. One hand clenched so tight around itself the nails left white indentations in my palm. We had been concealing ourselves in shadow until nightfall, so the cover of darkness would aid in retreating undiscovered. And now we were ready to move. Somehow, Setsuna-sensei was going to force the son to kill the father. All I had to do was use the Sharingan afterward to subdue the son. We were to make it look as if there had been a fight resulting in the death of one and the injury of the other.**

**“Let's go,” .....Setsuna told me, averting his gaze.**

**We started down the hall.**

**Planning to kill someone and actually doing it are two very different things. When you plan, the targets are just names on a paper, or on your tongue if your purpose requires too much secrecy to write anything down. Just names. Then you round the corner and see them: human faces. One old, one young, and a third you hadn't expected to see, because the son also has a mother and she's staring at you in white-faced alarm as you reach for your knife.**

**Your Sensei's eyes are rust-red, filled with spirals whose edges are sharp as shuriken blades. The room wavers, and you shut your eyes to try not to look at him, because you realize he is using an illusion technique and you don't want to be drawn into it. You hear a scream. It's the woman's, because her son has just taken the knife your Sensei placed in his hand and driven it into the father's throat.**

**Even before the target's body hits the floor your Sensei speaks your name, because you're not just a spectator are you? You are a part of this. So do what you must. You open your eyes and activate their power, grasping the son by the collar of his robes and forcing him to meet your gaze. His eyes are very wide and frightened, and his face is a boy's. He is a boy; not much older than you are.**

**Sleep, you whisper, wanting him to stop looking at you like you're a monster, so that you can be done with this mission and go home to where red is just the color of berries and sunsets and the scab on your brother's knee where he fell running . . .**

**Mercifully, I had used the Sharingan well and Gyoichi's son sagged in my arms. He slept immediately, but thanks to the technique Setsuna had used he would remember only what we wanted him to that he had killed his own father. I laid him carefully on the floor near the door, so that when the castle guards found him it would appear that he had fallen unconscious after the fight with Gyoichi. And I stood over him for a moment, knowing that more was expected of me but battling the nausea that twisted my stomach.**

**“ITACHI.” ....Setsuna wasn't looking at me, but his voice came like a whip-crack.**

**I half-turned and saw him walk briskly to the woman, who knelt on the other side of the low table, a tea cup still clutched absurdly in one hand. Her face was so white she looked dead. Perhaps she knew she was already dead.**

  **“Itachi,”....sensei repeated as he handed her the knife, “Do what you came to do.” .....to the woman, he bent nearer and whispered, “Kill yourself.”**

**I sucked in a deep breath, turning back to the boy lying prone in front of me. He lay with his face turned to the side. A stray lock of hair curled over one cheek. It's strange how you notice these things when you're clasping a blade between your sweaty fingers.**

**I stabbed him once. In the left arm, where he could bleed to death if left too long but he would not die immediately. I did it at that moment because I did not want to watch the boy's mother die.**

**“Sensei, your eyes . . .”......**

**“Now is not the time, Itachi,”.... he snapped.**

**We were running again. The sound of explosions and men shouting echoed through the stone halls; Akito's and Kabuto's diversions had already begun---in two separate places, to heighten the confusion they generated. I heard the sound of footsteps light, shinobi footsteps coming toward us around a corner and Setsuna grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out a window after him. We landed crouched on a roof below, then took off at breakneck speed along its peaked ridge, careful not to step hard on any of the tiles and break them. We had run into an unforeseen complication: Gyoichi had hired some of the Fuma Clan an independent shinobi clan located in that part of the Fire Country. Unlike the clumsier guards, other shinobi could easily pursue us especially shinobi who knew the terrain better than we did.**

**When we finally regrouped with our teammates, just inside the fortress walls, we found Kabuto and Akito locked in a standoff. Kabuto stood facing two shinobi opponents, one of whom held Akito withchakra wires about his throat. I knew just how quickly one could kill one's target with that technique, and I hurled four kunai as I landed on the ground, aiming to cut the wires. As Akito and his captor stumbled apart, the bugs that the Aburame Chuunin had been sending quietly along the wires now swarmed up his enemy's fingers and arms and onto his face. Setsuna dispatched with the other Fuma ninja quickly; he was in a hurry. Then the four of us scaled the high walls and dropped down on the other side. We hit the ground running.**

**We had taken precious care to see that all who recognized us for the Leaf-nin that we were ended up dead. All that remained was to get clear of the area to completely avoid discovery. This way, even though Gyoichi's son and officials would surely surmise that Konoha had sent the assassins, there would be no witnesses and therefore no legalities. Technically, a Village is not authorized to kill the feudal lords of its country. That law exists because civilians fear us even as they use us to avoid sullying their own hands. They fear shinobi acquiring positions of political power. But in the case of this mission, all the Fire Country's feudal lords agreed assassination was necessary, and so long as we left no witnesses they were willing to look the other way where the law was concerned. Brutal, but necessary.**

**At the time, however, I didn't know that the part where we forced the son to kill the father was not part of the mission. Setsuna lied a lie that cost the boy's mother her life and the boy his mental stability. My Sensei lied because there was much he stood to gain if a weak boy inherited Gyoichi's lands.**

**There's always a price.**

**We cleared the hills that ringed the torch-lit fortress and descended into the darkened fens beyond. That was where Orochimaru lay in wait for us. Don't mistake me, though; I don't mean to say he was hiding. He's an arrogant man. He was standing in the middle of the road, facing the same direction as when we'd left him, with his arms still folded behind his back. He offered my Sensei an asp's grin.**

**“It's done, then, is it?” ....he remarked, as congenially as if what we'd just done was some D-ranked mission shoveling barn-dung.**

**My whole body clenched with anger; I could not get the boy's face out of my head, and this sneering bastard was laughing.**

**But my Sensei whom I had never in my life known to kneel before anyone sank to one knee in a crouch, with one fist planted on the earth, in the manner of a servant before his master. “I've fulfilled the requirements you asked of me. I've earned my place among you.”**

**At the time, I had no idea what he meant by this.**

**The sneering stranger, however, did. “You're a prime candidate, to be sure,”..... he told my Sensei. “Uchiha Setsuna, of that prized clan. However . . . there's one thing left to do before you join.” ....his gaze slid sideways, to me. “Kill that boy.”**

**I saw my Sensei reach for his kunai pouch and tensed. There was no hesitation in the hand that drew the knife. None at all.**

**Setsuna rose and flew at me.**

**He was swift, but I was just as swift. Training with Shisui had made me fleeting as a shadow. I slipped between the kunai he threw easily. There were wires attached to the handles of each; he meant to trap me quickly and pull the wires tight, garroting my body until I burst. But my Sharingan eyes caught his trap early and I razed the wires apart with my shuriken.**

**I was almost on top of him when I realized the true nature of his trap. He had used the wires and thekunai as a feint, to lure me into close combat with him. I hurtled toward him, teeth gritted with the determination to end this before he could spring whatever jutsu his trap held.**

**He stopped me with his eyes.**

**The Mangekyou Sharingan was, to put it crudely, the Uchiha Clan's dirty little secret. I don't know if it still is they may have burnt the scroll after what I did. I hope not, but it seems likely they would have while reeling from the horror. If you want to see what someone fears, mark well what he chooses to destroy. It's a saying that we the Akatsuki use often.**

**To this day I don't know the circumstances under which Setsuna acquired that advanced dojutsu. Looking back on it now, though, I judge his skill with it to be rather poor, or he would have used Tsukiyomi on me to incapacitate me fully. But he didn't, and it saved me.**

**I saw the world melt around me and drip out from beneath my feet into an endless void. Really, my Sensei wasn't very original. I knew immediately that the vision wasn't real, even though it felt real enough because my skin was burning where it melted. Out of sheer determination I bit back the screams, so hard my tongue bled.**

**When next I returned to myself, I had sunk to my knees. Akito stood between Setsuna and I. His bugs had swarmed in our Sensei's face, covering his eyes and breaking the contact. A kunai blade was embedded in my chest, just below the collar bone on the left side. Even with his vision was blocked, Setsuna's blade had nearly found its mark. That was why he released the jutsu and let me go he was trying to kill me, not torture me. But I was still conscious.**

**“KABUTO!” .....Akito shouted, never once taking his eyes off our Sensei. “See to Itachi!”.....the insects were burrowing into Setsuna's flesh, seeking to damage the tenketsu lines to prevent him from using any of the formidable Uchiha ninjutsu against us, but Setsuna had somehow managed to produce another handful of kunai between the fingers of his left hand.**

**Fighting for breath against the tightness and the pain in my chest, I tilted my head forward and sideways and saw, out of the corner of my watering eye, that Kabuto had frozen. I had never seen that happen before, even though I had always known him to be one to hang back and analyze a situation before rushing in.**

**“K-Kabu---” .....I whispered, crawling toward him.**

**I wanted him to take the knife out. Every time I exhaled the edges twisting fractionally inside me sent pain searing through the nerves of my stomach and neck and left shoulder. Setsuna's kunai whizzed past me, behind me, grazed one ear.**

**I craned my neck and finally saw what Kabuto was looking at. The stranger who had started all this no longer seemed content to be a bystander. Orochimaru convulsed like a man retching and fat snakes came roiling out his mouth. All of this happened so quickly I blinked twice and it was done. When his lips had closed behind the tail of the last, he stretched out his arms and the serpents coiled round and round them, slithering toward his hands. Then he lunged toward me, with greater speed than I'd expected of someone who'd seemed so complacent before. This time Kabuto moved, attempting to rush behind him to catch him off guard before he could reach me. Instead, one of the snakes torqued its body and went seething back up his arm, over his shoulder, and sank its fangs deep into Kabuto's forearm when Kabuto's knife was still inches away from Orochimaru's neck.**

**Orochimaru was nearly upon me. I saw the eyes of the snakes, like cold diamonds, fixed on my face. I was weakening fast. But my Sharingan eyes also saw the chakra gathering in the snakes' mouths, and knew that if I surrendered to this attack I would not survive. With the kind of strength that can only be born of desperation I wrenched the kunai from my own flesh and flung it at him.**

**I can hit a target in the dark. I can hit several at once, simply from perfect visual memory. And I can throw faster than an eye-blink. Between that snap of my wrist and when my enemy halted his rush, there seemed to have been no time elapsed at all. But a heartbeat's span had passed, and I saw that he had withdrawn one snake-wound arm to catch my kunai in his fist, the point literally a finger's away from the spot between his eyes.**

**Having bought myself time by stopping his charge, I scrambled backward on all fours, my mind already formulating plans of action.**

**Ten feet behind Orochimaru, Kabuto had sunk to his knees now. The snake still held him fast, though he quickly produced a knife in his left hand and was stabbing at it. The knife would not pierce the scaly hide.**

**While I had been preoccupied with Orochimaru, Setsuna caught Akito with chakra wires round the throat. My Sensei was enraged beyond reason; he was in pain and he was losing and he knew it, and he was determined not to die alone. He no longer cared who he killed. Or maybe he actually did still think he could kill me in that condition with bugs eating away at his tenketsu and was stupid enough to think Orochimaru would heal him afterward just as long as he did what he'd been told to do.**

**Whatever was going through Setsuna's mind in that moment, while the insects ate his eyes, while the wires he wove tightened round Akito's neck . . . it doesn't matter any more. I killed him so quickly I was hardly aware of what I'd done until it was finished. A kunai blade driven into the vertebra at the base of the skull, severing vital nerves. I had pushed myself to my feet and rushed, with a strength that only comes from that deep core of something that transcends pain and weakness. My hand moved as if of its own accord, and my heart went empty and my mind went sharp and my vision went clearer than it had ever been before. The world sharpened as I drove the knife downward, as the crack came, as he dropped like a stone a twitching, gasping, human stone.**

**When he hit the ground, with a thud that thundered and echoed in the caverns of my brain, time slowed down again to its normal pace. His fingers clawed at the earth where he landed. I tore my gaze from him quickly and severed the wires binding Akito. Akito slumped to his knees, gasping a slower, deeper countermeasure of breath over the horrid wet gurgling that whistled between Setsuna's lips. I bent and helped my teammate to remove the last of the garrote from his neck.**

**That was when I realized Orochimaru was laughing. And that he had abandoned pursuit of me.**

**Slowly, I turned to him, a wide grin split his face. “Uchiha Itachi, wasn't it?” ...he said lazily. “It seems you've robbed me of a disciple. Now you must give me another.”**

**My whole body was shaking my child's body, betraying me as I bled and swayed where I stood. I didn't give him the satisfaction of replying couldn't have if I'd wanted to. I took one staggering step toward him, still clutching the knife I'd just used to kill my Sensei and save my comrade.**

**“Oh? You do want to kill me?” ...Orochimaru chuckled. “Well, you're out of your league, boy. But let me let you in on a little secret. I wanted your Sensei dead as well as Gyoichi-sama. You've actually done me a favor. So I'm going to let you go. But first . . . kill one of your teammates.”**

**My vision was wavering. I fought with sheer willpower to keep my eyes focused. “One?” ....I croaked.**

**My throat had gone dry as bone.**

**With the kunai I'd thrown at him he gestured toward Akito, who knelt beside me, and then toward Kabuto, who also knelt clutching his wounded forearm. I didn't doubt there was strong venom in the snakes' fangs; Kabuto's forehead was beaded with sweat.**

**“Pick one,”..... Orochimaru told me, “and you and the other will go free. Here's your chance to prove your worth. Here's life and death. I lay it in your hands.”**

**I merely stood there, staring at him and hating him more than I'd ever hated anyone. My hatred was all I had left to fling at him. “Don't ask stupid things,” I said hoarsely. “I don't want to `prove myself' in anyone's eyes.” Even as I said it, I knew I was going to die there. And my mind, ever well-honed and resourceful, was offering me strategies for killing either Kabuto or Akito. Presenting reasons why I should choose each of them. Weighing human life like meat on a butcher's scale.**

**My head reeled, and briefly I saw the world at a slant. I was going to lose consciousness soon, I knew.**

**What happened next I only remember as if it were a dream. It's odd I remember other even more terrible parts of my life so clearly I can close my eyes and watch them come to life . . . But not that night. Looking back, it's almost like seeing myself from a distance, as if it were someone else forcing himself to remain upright while whispering No, no, I won't, I WON'T. Charging. Fire jutsu burning empty air because the enemy already moved. Stumbling an about face to see him poised with my kunai at Akito's throat. He had been waiting for me to turn around and see him, so he could show me how powerless I was. He ran his tongue along the flat of the blade, lapping up my blood.**

**My useless Sharingan eyes showed me where his hand would strike even before it did.**

**Akito died swiftly, in that dream.**

**I remained standing. Barely. No words to fling at him; there weren't any.**

**Somewhere behind me, I heard Kabuto gasp, “Don't kill me! Please! I'll do what you say, just don't kill me . . .”**

**Don't kill me, he said. In that moment we'd ceased to be us.**

**I learned something from Kabuto upon hearing that: human beings are sacks of meat. In the end, they cry out for themselves and what they want and what they deserve because to them, that's all there is. Kabuto, groveling, yammering something about his abilities, holding up his stricken arm. Disgusting.**

**“I give you both a choice,” ....Orochimaru told Kabuto and I, tossing our dead teammate aside.**

**Akito's body fell across Setsuna's.**

**“I'm letting you go. But someday I want you to join me. Once you've realized that even your mighty Konoha must still lick the boots of the civilian lords. Once you realize your precious clans are nothing but names to bind you to small-minded servitude. Come to me, when you've found the courage to piss on your meaningless ideals and do something that actually means something.”....something in his speech was like the darker echo of my doubts.**

**“Not . . . worthless,”.... I whispered, falling to my hands and knees.**

**My head was growing lighter and lighter, and I could scarcely feel the dirt beneath my palms. But I had to defy him. If I didn't, I was accepting that my doubts were true.**

**“Don't try to judge me, stupid brat,” ....Orochimaru sneered. “You don't even know what you are.”**

**“Uchiha,”.... I whispered. “Itachi. Son of---”**

**“Names,” ....he snapped. “Son, brother, student, Genin, Uchiha, boy. Labels. You won't know yourself until you know your limits. When you realize your boundaries are far bigger than four Village walls. So think about that, Uchiha Itachi. Do you know what you can do? Do you really? You don't yet. Go home, lick your wounds, comfort yourself with their lies about how the Village, the Clan is all there is.”**

**Crunch of gravel beneath his sandals. He left us there, crouched bleeding on the road. With him he took the bodies of our teammate and Sensei.**

**It was nearly a week before Kabuto and I returned to Konoha. We moved very slowly at first; Kabuto's healing abilities saved us both, but I had lost a lot of blood and Kabuto a lot of chakra. When we'd recounted all that had befallen us to the Hokage himself, it was judged that we'd done well in the worst of all possible situations. I left the office after Kabuto, trying to ignore the way the Sandaime's piercing stare followed me out. I worried him, I think. But he had nothing concrete to hold against me, so he did nothing.**

**As I made my way down the old, familiar streets of the Uchiha compound, shopkeepers and friends of the family alike stopped what they were doing to call out in greeting. I nodded to some of them; others I was too weary to respond to. My clothes, despite several attempts to scrub them clean, were deep-stained with blood---my own and Setsuna's and Akito's and, in smaller, darker blots on my sandals, that of Gyoichi's son.**

  **When I set foot on the threshold of my house, I saw my entire family sitting in the receiving hall, waiting for me. Sasuke sat beside my father, solemn-faced and tiny but obviously trying to imitate Chichi-ue's dignified bearing. But when he saw me come through the door his face lit up, and he practically threw himself at me. I stumbled back a step, but he'd wrapped his arms around me so firmly I didn't trip.**

**“Sasuke, Itachi is tired,” ....my father said sharply.**

**My brother pulled away from me and went to sit down again, biting his lip. I followed suit, purposefully sitting far away from him. It was as if the touch of his small hand on mine had burned me.**

**When you see too much red, the world goes colorless for a while, and takes a long time to brighten again.**

**I spoke very little of my experiences on the mission, though my proud relatives plied me with questions. In fact, I spoke very little at all. I began avoiding everyone, especially Sasuke. Seeing him smile at me so trustingly made me see the stray lock of hair, curled down over a boy's cheek as he lay helpless on the floor.**

**And Setsuna's and Akito's deaths were problematic for Kabuto and I in more ways than one. We were a broken team. We threw ourselves into training, because despite our acclaim in Konoha requests for our services on missions weren't exactly pouring in any more. In the grand scale of things, thanks to Orochimaru's interference the mission had ended in blunder. Lord Gyoichi's assassination wasn't supposed to be traced back to Konoha, but it was. He'd somehow planted Setsuna's body on the scene, and with a dead Uchiha in the hands of the Fuma Clan Konoha was forced to barter for the corpse's return to protect the Uchiha bloodline. The cost: Gyoichi's son, who succeeded his father, ordered the secession of his fiefdom from the Fire Country.**

**The Rice Country was born.**

**And without the protection of the Leaf, the new lord naively fell prey to Orochimaru's lies. But that's another story altogether.**

**The point is, our `blunder' had cost the Fire lords a large chunk of the country.**

**Seeking to improve our positions, Kabuto and I took the next Chuunin Exam as a two-man team. I saved his life in the Forest of Death. He lost his match in the arena afterward. I was finally officially named Chuunin; Kabuto wasn't. But he actually seemed sincere when he said he didn't mind. I didn't realize at the time, but he was even quicker to see the meaninglessness of titles than I was. He had decided `Chuunin' was a name he didn't need.**

**I was not as ready to think beyond the patterns of my life. Yet.**

**But I did have one very important question for my father. I had asked it twice before, and gotten no answer.**

**“Chichi-ue, why were Setsuna-sensei's eyes different?”**

 


	54. REMORSE

  **  
**

**Crawl away into the shell you put yourself in**

**Crawl away, I watched you crawl away**

**Not one set of footprints in this burning sand**   
**It fell away, I watched it fall away**   
**Who am I in your eyes?**   
**How does it feel?**   
**How does it feel your asking**   
**I cant heal, I cant feel you anymore**   
**I'll never kneel**   
**Never kneel before you**   
**How can I heal**   
**When there's blood still on the floor?**   
**In a vacuum screaming**   
**Hope was not in season**   
**Please hear me, someone hear me**   
**If I could you know I'd take your place my friend**   
**"not again", yes I'll carry you again**   
**Who am I in your eyes?**   
**Hold on**

My father di **d not answer my question immediately. I think . . . by that point . . . not only was he afraid for me he was afraid of me. He knew very well what the Mangekyou Sharingan was, and how it could be obtained.**

**So he looked down into the face of the ten-year-old boy who had killed Uchiha Setsuna and said, “That dojutsu is something you will learn about when you're older.”**

**I misunderstood him at the time. I thought he meant I would learn the dojutsu from him, as if the Mangekyou were something all adult Uchiha knew how to work. My instruction concerning that technique and the complete and utter disillusionment that came afterward would not occur for another two years. In the meantime, however, I was beginning to be resentful truly resentful for the first time, after I'd returned from the Rice Country mission. I had become an assassin and lost two comrades all at once. Achievement of Genin and Chuunin rank should have been enough to prove me in my father's eyes, and if not for the sake of those then suffering should have been enough. But for all I'd suffered and seen, for all the new strength I'd acquired, it was never enough.**

**My father kept me at an arm's length, and watched me carefully.**

**It seems a simple thing, I suppose, to say I was being watched. But think about it: do you know what it's like to have those who are supposed to be more powerful than you begin to look at you with wariness in their eyes? To be a child and to realize you somehow have the power to unnerve? I wasn't stupid, and after what I'd been through in the Rice Country I knew I was drawing near to being as strong as my father. I kept training, and growing . . . and still I saw no limit in the near future.**

**What I learned from my father's wariness was to be afraid of myself.**

**There were only two people, at this point in my life, who looked at me without wariness. The first was Shisui. The second was Sasuke.**

**Sasuke . . . worshipped me. I'm not sure when it began. Shisui noticed, on the rare occasions he accompanied me to my training grounds, that Sasuke was trailing me and hid to watch me practice. “Itachi, you've got a shadow,” he remarked. I'd noticed, too, but hadn't tried to make a great deal of it. I started trying to leave the house more quietly after that, and made a new training area that I kept secret. But Sasuke, to my surprise, found me again.**

**Eventually I stopped trying to hide. I called out to him, so he didn't have to crouch in trees until his knees grew stiff to watch me in secret. Once, he sheepishly admitted to me, he'd even knelt on an anthill when he was hiding in the bushes and went home with welts all over his shins.**

**He was fascinated by my strength. He wanted to know what I wanted to do with it.**

**He wanted to know how he could grow up to have it.**

**Sasuke was just like me in that respect. He really was my shadow. I let him watch me, though I never directly invited him to come I left it up to him to figure out when and where I was going. And I didn't mind when he asked me stupid, childish things, because I saw in him my past self the Itachi who hadn't yet killed a boy in the Chuunin arena, or become an assassin. Sasuke had the cruel honesty of the innocent; some of his questions made me question myself.**

**It was ridiculous that my father didn't pay much attention to my brother. Sasuke had such a hunger for strength. And for truth. But my father saw only me, with my strength and my cold heart. He was too determined to make me a leader.**

**One hot summer day after sparring with me, my father stepped back, sweating, and told me gravely that he'd taught me everything he knew. There was pride written plainly in his stance; he clasped his hands behind him and faced me straight-backed and level-eyed like a man does his equal.**

**“Now it's up to you to use it wisely,” he told me, nodding acknowledgement. “You'll make a fine leader.”**

**My father never once told me that I must also become a good man.**

**Of course, good and evil are created by the simple, the fearful. Power transcends everything everyshinobi knows this instinctively. I was beginning to understand that.**

**I was growing rapidly at that age, approaching Shisui's height and beginning to fill out. My shoulders became too broad for my clothes; we bought new ones. And I knew instinctively, with the wordless intuition of the young, that I was meant to keep growing to fill out the dimensions of a greater life. How could my father tell me proudly that I had reached the height? I had barely begun.**

**My breath caught in my throat after his pronouncement.**

**I wanted to shout, "This can't be all there is! There must be more! "......but my cold, rational self---so adept at reining in those impulses moved my lips, and I found myself asking, “Wasn't there something else? Another dojutsu?”**

**My father grew curt and tight-lipped, and his only response to my question was, “One more year, and you'll be old enough to know about that.”**

**I was eleven.**

**After that day, I kept training obsessively. There had to be more. Kunai could fly with greater accuracy. Sharingan eyes could see more clearly. Desperate to keep the mind growing and changing so I didn't become bored and stagnant and dead.**

**One day I returned from training to find what seemed like my entire clan waiting for me, seated in our receiving hall. All in rows, as if there were a funeral. But there was no shrine at the head of the room, and no incense. Instead, there was a scroll. My father held it.**

**“Come, Uchiha Itachi,”... he told me, beckoning me to him.**

**He said it proudly, but there was a set to his jaw even grimmer than usual, and I approached with misgivings. “You're twelve years old now, and a man in our eyes. It's time you learned the secrets of the clan.”**

**When he told me this, I went to him without hesitation. It's fair to ask, I suppose, that if someone had told me then that my innocence was about to be lost forever, would I have accepted the scroll? My head was full of questions then, and I was in no state of mind to refuse answers. So yes, I would still have accepted the scroll. Because the truth was important.**

**And the secret. Of course, the secret . . .**

**Konoha, champion village of the Fire Country, was not originally governed by a Hokage. When the village was first formed, there was only a council of representatives from each founding clan. But there were two men the heads of the two most powerful clans who felt that the strongest should lead the others. One of these men was a Hyuuga. Great dissent arose in the council. Breakout violence, or even civil war, seemed inevitable.**

**That was when, and why, the Uchiha were created. Created. Bred. Engineered. The clan opposing the Hyuuga did this in secret, using the genes of their rivals to create an even stronger clan.**

**I read with no expression on my face, but as I did something inside me began to burn.**

**Why were the Uchiha created?**

**Why was I created?**

**Our purpose?**

**My purpose?**

**The Uchiha were born to become stronger than Konoha's strongest clan. To rule the village.**

**But we were a failure.**

**We couldn't compare with the Hyuuga. War did break out, between the two great clans, and the Uchiha were caught between. Many died, because we weren't strong enough to be used for our intended purpose. And afterward . . . the two clan leaders fought one-on-one, at the Valley of the End. The Hyuuga leader died. His rival became Hokage. And the Uchiha, whom he'd created, became his watchdogs. We became Konoha's policing force, and established our name and our place in the new government. The first Hokage treated us as an honored clan, and we became wealthy.**

**But every time there was a war, we were sent to the front lines. And the Hyuuga, Konoha's trump cards, were guarded like hothouse flowers.**

**Our clan had a secret: a terrible secret, developed by the first Hokage during his conflict with the Hyuuga. When he saw that the Uchiha weren't strong enough to win him his war, he found a way for us to become more powerful. Stumbled upon it by accident, while experimenting. I won't speak of the nature of those experiments---they were disgusting. Demeaning. During one of them, an Uchiha man rebelled and killed one of those overseeing the experiment. She was a woman he'd once loved.**

**He went insane with grief. For months, he was like a man with no soul, except in sleep, when he raved like a madman. And then . . . he returned to himself. And his Sharingan was changed. Members of the first Hokage's clan---the ones who had created the Uchiha wanted to develop the Mangekyou Sharingan to use against the Hyuuga. They were ruthless and shrewd, with the foresight to see that strength is everything. But when their clan leader achieved his goal, becoming the Ichidaime, and he changed. He felt the eyes of all Konoha on him, and sensed that if he couldn't make them forget his past brutality they would overthrow him. The new government was soft, after all. Letting old men and women make our laws; sitting peaceably at a table while they sent shinobi out to die in strange lands.**

**Thanks to the Ichidaime, the Mangekyou Sharingan became forbidden. Knowledge of it was banished, except to be used as a warning to Uchiha boys coming of age. With it, I understood, the Uchiha could have been stronger than the Hyuuga. We could have been gods. But Konoha's laws forbade it.**

**And the stupid, blind Uchiha forsook it for the sake of peace.**

**As I stood there, rooted to the spot, holding the scroll, I began to realize for the first time the depth of that stupidity.**

**"Why? Why? ".....I pretended to still be reading, but my eyes saw nothing.**

**My ears rang with silent questions."What am I doing? Why do any of this? Why fight to protect when we're nothing but tools?"**

**“Itachi,” .....my father said.**

**He reached for the scroll. Took it easily because my fingers had gone numb.**

  **“Now you know the secret,” ....my uncles said to me. “Now you are truly an Uchiha.”**

**They were telling me:" Now that you know the height you could have reached, you must abandon all hope of reaching it."**

**Afterward, when they left me alone at last, I went to my room and tore up the scroll where I'd once written down the Yondaime's words.**

**"Protect? Serve? Is nobility just an easy way to die? ".....bits of shredded paper fell around me like snow." The clan! The clan! Damn them for their cowardice! Let them take their secrets straight to hell!"**

**_I_** **was never the same again.**

**I** **began to hate everything around me. It was like a slow-working potion, poisoning everything familiar until I could no longer see it, taste it, feel it. As it had after the assassination, the world's color faded to black and white.**

**I trained. I ate. I spoke, and no one was the wiser. But inside I burned. Instead of becoming numb and dead as I had after the assassination, I let the slow hatred fill me. And it suffused me with strength, likechakra itself.**

**Sasuke sensed it, I think. He followed me everywhere, wide-eyed and smiling shyly because even though he loved me he was nervous of me.**

**Once, after a particularly long practice, he became overly excited and managed to sprain his ankle. I carried him home. On the way, we passed the station where our father worked.**

**As we passed I felt Sasuke's heart skip a beat against my back and came to a halt.** “What is it? This is where our father works, right?”

**“This is the headquarters of Konoha's police force,”...... I explained.**

**He asked me why it bore our symbol on its sign-block. It was like a needle in my gut.**

**I swallowed my bitterness and gave him the appropriate explanation. But I also said, “The only ones who may judge the crimes of shinobi are superior shinobi.” I was telling him that by right the strongest rule. What I wanted to say was that the Uchiha were weak because they chose to be, and so others ruled over them.**

**“Are you gonna join too?” ......he asked.**

**Ahead of him, where he couldn't see, my face went dark. “Hmm . . . maybe.”**

**"And why not? ".....I thought, with a viciousness that surprised even me. "After all, aren't I also destined to bow to the destiny of my clan?"**

**“You should!” ......he chirped in my ear. “When I grow up, I want to join the police force, too! For tomorrow's entrance exam, tou-san's gonna come too. It'll be the first step to realizing my dream.”**

**His skinny little-boy-arms tightened round my shoulders. There was such fervor in his voice, such naïve earnestness, that it jolted me from my resentment. I hadn't realized until that moment just how much my creature he was. Sasuke wanted to join Konoha's policing force because he thought I did. If I'd told him then what I was really thinking, I believe he would've accepted it and changed his mind in a heartbeat. Because he loved me.**

**It was like I was seeing him for the first time.**

**That day, my father met us and hurried us home. He wanted to accompany me on my next mission, and he seemed excited. I wanted none of his excitement. So I reminded him that Sasuke was entering the Academy, and threatened to forego the mission to attend the ceremony. I knew my father well. All it took was a subtle reminder not to neglect Sasuke and he surrendered to guilt. And I'd gleaned from his behavior that the mission was something very important. Some opportunity to earn me some new acclaim; the Uchiha constantly sought acclaim in the village. They used pride to distract themselves from what they could really do.**

**While my father oversaw my brother's graduation, I embarked on the mission with a larger team than I was accustomed to four other people. Kabuto, a Chuunin girl from the Inuzuka clan, and two Jounin. The Jounin were there to assess me for some reason; I didn't know at the time they were considering me for Jounin rank. Thus it was left to me to lead the mission, despite my young age.**

**I won't say much about the mission itself. It was dangerous; it required great mental and physical aptitude on my part. But what makes it worth mentioning at all is that I met Orochimaru. Again.**

**We met some heavy resistance from a renegade clan near the Cloud Country border. During the fight, I judged it best that my team separate and make for the trees, where as Leaf ninja we would have the advantage of terrain experience. Then I caught a glimpse of black, lanky hair, and a narrow, ghastly pale face, and without even considering the consequences I took off after him on my own. I didn't want my comrades to witness me speaking to him. Or killing him. At the time, in my state of inner turmoil, I wasn't sure which I wanted more.**

**He'd clearly intended for me to follow him, because after a while he came to a halt. He stood on the ground patiently until at last I descended from the high branches. He wanted us on even ground.**

**I stood before him a young man, shorter than he was but secure in my strength. And he . . . he looked different as well. He wore white robes tied with a purple obi such that they bulged round the middle, and upon his clothes he bore a crest I'd never seen before. I knew better than to think it was the crest of his former clan in Konoha.**

**“What is your reason?”.... I asked sharply.**

**I was angry; I lacked the patience for preliminaries. I wanted to know why he'd sought me out again.**

**Orochimaru laughed, folding his hands composedly behind his back. “You've grown,” ...he observed. “You've already outgrown Konoha and its ideals. And everything around you makes you sick.”**

**I**   **said nothing. Waited for him to answer what I'd asked.**

**“There's an organization,” ....he said, “ Akatsuki.” ....he lifted his right hand and I saw he wore a ring on it. “We believe that the powerful are meant to rule. Not civilians, not feudal lords, but shinobi.” ....his slitted eyes gleamed. “Superior shinobi.”**

**I kept my guard, holding kunai lightly in each hand to throw if need be. “And you want me to join? Why?”**

**“Because you're like me,” ....he replied, “And I'm like you. Or I will be.” ....he chuckled, seeming to make some kind of private joke.**

**At the time I had no idea of his designs on the Uchiha bloodline limit, or that he used forbidden jutsu to change bodies. I was just tired of his riddles.**

**“And what is it . . . that you want from me?”.... I asked slowly.**

**I knew better than to think he was doing this for me.**

**His smile grew slyer still. “I want the secrets of the Uchiha.”**

**“Why?” ....I asked. “What secrets we have are unique to our . . . blood.”**

**I had just barely stopped myself from saying “breed.” We were a breed, after all. Like hounds the feudal lords breed for hunting.**

**“What I want from the Uchiha has nothing to do with you,” ....Orochimaru countered.**

**His yellow eyes seemed to stare right through me. “Don't pretend you care what happens to them. You want power and you want freedom.”....his lips parted in a grin again. “We both know protecting the weak is a waste of time.”**

**He paused; my hands had clenched round the kunai. But I neither moved nor spoke. His words frightened me, but at the same time the anger gnawing at my heart burned my chest, compelled me to listen.**

**“You already know that people who don't have strong desire are just bags of flesh. So what are the Uchiha to you?”....wWhen I didn't answer, he laughed, short and sharp. “Heh. Well, I have a lot to do. If you won't choose now, I'll see you again, in the Rice Country.”**

**I flew at him. I hated his cryptic promises and I hated myself for wanting to believe them. I caught him by the shoulders and slammed him hard against the trunk of a tree. But he melted backward into the bark, slipping through my fingers as if he were a ghost. Laughing.**

**“What is your limit, Uchiha Itachi?” .....he asked. Then he was gone.**

**I regrouped with my team not long after. We returned safely to Konoha. Afterward, there was a report filed by all members in the presence of the Sandaime. We stood in his office in a row while he listened to us with fingers steepled thoughtfully beneath his chin.**

**I was distracted; I scarcely cared what they had to say about me. That is, until Hatake Kakashi turned to me and asked for my report on what had happened after we split up. He had a vague, nonchalant way of asking things, but the one dark eye with which he regarded me was shrewd and keen. I'd been wary of him from the moment we met, because he seemed wary of me.**

**I hadn't prepared a lie, and I sensed Kakashi-san would catch any I invented.**

**Fortunately, Kabuto was an accomplished liar. “Our paths crossed soon after,”..... my teammate volunteered. “Itachi-kun saved my life.”**

**I stared at him. The smile he turned my way was so perfectly calculated that I knew I hadn't been the only one to meet Orochimaru during the mission. And I knew Kabuto had accepted Orochimaru's offer, because he didn't even try to make his own performance sound impressive before the Sandaime. He'd accepted the snake's offer in his heart long ago, and he had no use for pride.**

**Kakashi was still suspicious of me. I was curious because I knew he was someone my father disliked, but during the mission I'd made no effort to speak with him beyond what was required. As a genius, I was wary of geniuses especially geniuses my father disliked. Setsuna-sensei had taught me that the powerful care only for themselves a lesson I never forgot.**

**But Kakashi's mistrust was to have no profound effect on me. The panel named me Jounin, and Kabuto and I were secure in our lie. My father was proud. Everyone was so proud of me, they didn't notice the torment I was in.**

**“What is your limit, Uchiha Itachi?”.....Orochimaru's question haunted me.**

  **Orochimaru is honest to a point that transcends anyone I've ever known and his honesty is too cruel for people to accept as truth, so they brand him evil and criminal and twisted and any label they see fit to use for an excuse not to listen to him. Even I at an age where I was simultaneously haunted by doubts and determined to silence them could not deny that his words rang of truth . . . such truth . . . I couldn't forget them. There's something about a question that rings truer than an answer; it challenges wisdom without presuming to be wise. To me, his question was a catalyst.**

**I began to question everything.**

**It was like a return to my childhood, when my head rang with ceaseless “Why?”**

**Only now . . . the questions were cold and bitter, and I asked them only in my head.**

**It robbed me of sleep. That, perhaps, was the worst pattern I could've started. It made what was going on inside my head begin to show on the outside. That was dangerous, because it made my father forget his pride and begin to watch me more closely again.**

**It wasn't long before I was approached by ANBU and informed that they wanted me. I welcomed the opportunity to get out of the village, where the walls of my clan quarters had gone colorless, so I agreed to undergo their tests.**

**It wasn't long before the extra training on top of missions put too much strain on me. I began to do rash things.**

**One afternoon, I was training in the woods. I'd set up targets all around me, pointing toward me like a host of round Sharingan eyes.**

**I had just flung kunai toward them and settled to my feet after an intricate series of mid-air flips when I caught a glimpse of gray hair and glasses out of the corner of my eye. I landed in a crouch, wheeling about on the balls of my feet and balancing myself with the fingertips of both hands touching the dirt.**

**“Kabuto-kun, why are you here?”.....I asked it calmly, but inwardly I resented that he'd found my secret training ground.**

**Except for when missions required teamwork, I'd been avoiding Kabuto increasingly since the assassination incident.**

**“Looking for you,” ....he replied, sun-spots dancing on his shoulders as he moved further into the clearing. “I've come to tell you about the prestigious mission you're being offered.”**

**I stared at him. Kabuto was always hard to read. I never liked him.**

**But the air around him wavered, and the next thing I knew I was staring at a tall sixteen-year-old boy, lean but well-muscled, the back of his hair cropped haphazardly while the front still flopped rakishly across his forehead. His eyes were red with the Sharingan, but he was grinning at me.**

**“Shisui,”.... I greeted him, nodding soberly. He'd fooled me and we both knew it.**

 O **ur clan had even nicknamed him “Shisui of the Mirage,” ......he'd become so talented with genjutsu.**

**“I seriously did come to tell you something good,” ....he informed me. “They're considering you for ANBU.”**

**I nodded, offering a faint smile. “Oh.”**

**His grin lessened. “Congratulations.”...... I could practically smell the jealousy on him, but for my sake he just stood there, waiting for me to say something.**

**The line between love and hate is sometimes paper thin.**

**“Thank you,” ....I replied, without feeling.**

**There wasn't much else to say. With my recent promotion to Jounin rank, I'd achieved everything by twelve years that most shinobi spent a lifetime chasing after. Being inducted into ANBU only served to show me just how empty I was. I had everything. And I had nothing.**

**But Shisui didn't understand that. My stillness and lack of enthusiasm were getting on his nerves.**

**“Well? Aren't you happy?” .....he asked, a bit too loudly.**

**I rose slowly from my crouch, eyeing him with interest. He was more irritated than I'd thought.**

**“Uncle's proud of you, you know,”.... Shisui reminded me. “You're a promising heir to us. You don't have anything to worry over.”....aA pause. “Say something! You always go off on your own, like you think the world's against you. Well, it's not! You're being handed everything you could want!”....then he stopped himself, raking his fingers through his hair and looking away from me. “Shit, I didn't mean it like that.”...he still sounded like he meant it. He started pacing. His feet swished through the grass as he moved closer to me.**

**Was he angry? Well, so was I. I wanted to see what we could make with our anger.**

**“Why don't we fight, then?”....... I asked him, my eyes flaring red. “Show me what strength is.”**

**But I'd made a mistake, challenging him like that. There was too little familiarity in my voice, and too much curiosity in the tilt of my head too much detachment. It scared him. He grabbed me by the shoulders so hard his fingers dug into my upper arms and left bruises.**

**“What . . . the HELL is WRONG with you?”.... he snarled between clenched teeth.**

**e looked as if he wanted to embrace me or shake me until my teeth rattled. But I stared at him coldly, waiting. When you lock hatred away inside is that it sears you, eats you, until you're paper thin and you want everything you touch to burn. Shisui could see through to the turmoil inside me, to what no one else could see because they wanted only to see that genius. Before my friend's eyes, every role I played Uchiha heir, Jounin, son, brother, prodigy all these fell away, and he saw Itachi. I loved Shisui in that moment.**

**And I hated him. Because what he saw confounded and frightened him. Because I couldn't bear my wretched self to be naked before another's judgment.**

**“I don't know myself,” .....I told him, my voice ragged and thick. “What I'm meant for. Why I am. But no one here knows themselves. Not you. Not Chichi-ue, not the Uchiha. We serve and we protect. We die! And none of it means anything!”**

**He let go of me roughly, shoving me a few feet away from him. “Is that what you think?”.... he demanded. “That our lives are worthless? Genius, my ass! You're a damned moron. You go on missions, and they matter. You eat dinner with your family, you have a brother who worships the ground you walk on, and that matters too. You and me, standing here, that matters!”**

**“Do you know what it means to reach the height?”..... I snapped. “Do you? Does anyone?”**

**He didn't. And when I tried to put my frustration into words I failed miserably, leaving him confused and worried.**

**“Stop looking for some great meaning to the world we're in,”.... he finally said, shaking his head in disgust. “If you think too much, you're bound to hate yourself. You're just running in circles, and anyone with eyes can see it's wearing you out.”.....he turned away from me and began to head off toward the village. Giving up on me.**

**The Uchiha crest, emblazoned on the back of his shirt, glared at me like a target.**

**A horrible thought occurred to me.**

**“Shisui. Is my father making you keep an eye on me?”.....I saw him shake his head, but I knew he wasn't really denying it.**

**“Get some sleep, brat,” ......he admonished gruffly. “You look like hell.”**

**A few nights after, Sasuke had a nightmare and came into my room again, just like he had when he was five.**

**“Eight years is too old to be scared of the dark,” .....I told him.**

**He just stood there, in the shadowed doorway, rubbing his eyes. “Did you see a ghost again?” ....I asked, as he climbed into my bed and claimed the middle space and my pillow for himself.**

**He rolled over, too embarrassed to look me in the face. But he mumbled into the pillow, “There were lots this time. Watching me in my bed.”**

**It didn't take him long to drop off to sleep in my bed. I stayed sitting up for a while, watching him breathe. His face, in a square of moonlight from my window. The curve of his cheek and his spiky, tousled black hair. He looked like something awkward and unfinished.**

**We're connected by something I can't name, Sasuke and I. It isn't what others would call love it's more like I'm filled with the responsibility of making him into something worthwhile. Because he's a piece of what I could have been, and because I can't let that go, I choose instead to master it and make it my tool. He's a piece of my shattered conscience, trailing after me like a shadow. Or a ghost.**

**Looking at him back then, in that square of moonlight, I wondered what sort of creature he would become. After all, when an artist holds a brush in hand before a blank canvas, can he help wondering what form he'll give it?**

**“But there's no hope for us in this village,”..... I murmured. “There's nothing.”**

**Sasuke muttered something in his sleep, then rolled over.**

**I was staring at him, but suddenly my eyes saw something else. My head snapped up, and my eyes flared red with a rush of ambition.**

**I knew, then.**

**There was more. For me, for him. My clan was afraid of it. But I . . . was not.**

**After my induction into ANBU, the workload tripled. I was left with very little time to train on my own. Nevertheless, I still found the time to locate the hiding place for the scroll, and to begin a deep study of the Mangekyou Sharingan. No one ever caught me of that I'm sure. If they had, it would all have ended before it began.**

**I wanted that power. My flailing mind latched onto it like a death grip on sanity. Every time I activated my Sharingan, alone or in combat, I tried to simulate the emotions the scroll claimed brought the technique into play. Dojutsu, you understand, relies on chemical reactions in the brain to activate it. And certain emotions . . . The only Mangekyou cases documented in the scroll involved the user killing a loved one.**

**The ultimate mixture of hatred and love.**

**I stopped letting Sasuke come to watch me train. It's strange to admit, but the emotions required to produce the Mangekyou Sharingan make you see the world differently. If Sasuke had been with me while I was training for it . . . I don't know what I would have done. It hadn't taken me long to grow impatient with myself. Simulating the emotions in my mind wasn't producing results fast enough, and the prospect of an easier road was beginning to tempt me.**

**Just one person. One . . . beloved . . . person.**

**And I could reach the height. Know myself, what I was and why I was.**

**I was almost never home during those days. When I was home or at work, my father was watching me so carefully I felt like a prisoner in my own life. Always he asked after my health, out of worry, but also because he sensed his prized son and heir was slipping through his fingers.**

**I was slipping away. I was dying, slowly, inside. Every mission I undertook, I became less and less Itachiand more a creature who acted only according to the desires of others. My body was acting on its own, moving as I'd trained it, while my heart was buried somewhere cold and hopeless.**

**Then came the mission where I almost slipped away entirely. I . . . the details of that mission aren't clear to me, even to this day. My mindset during that time . . . everything was a blur. Gray and hazed over. The strain of too many sleepless nights and overuse of chakra. Our mission was to thwart an assassination on a Fire Country noble. Lady Aki, who ruled in her dead husband's stead. I was with ANBU, acting in conjunction with a Jounin team Shisui's team. He had made Jounin not long after I did. Crawling along the ceiling, I sighted the assassin coming around the corner in the hall long before my comrades did. The hall was dark, but I could smell his fear. Though I could barely see his face, I knew he was young; a boy.**

**I was upon him before my comrades even noticed his presence. He was quick; he slid out from beneath me. I went hurtling after him down the hall, onto a terrace where the lanterns were lit. Knocked him down, crouched over him while he lay stunned. Raised the knife.**

**Hesitated.**

**The face below me was mine.**

**A shadow of me, I remember thinking in horror.**

**He hadn't copied my face with any jutsu---I was wearing the ANBU mask---but in my mind's eye he was what I'd once been. A boy, who'd come to this place to kill in cold blood.**

**A terrifying question came to me: "What if I were in his place? Would I surrender myself to die? Isn't it the fate of the weak to die?"**

**Lanterns swung over us, shifting the red-yellow glow back and forth. I wavered.**

**And then . . . it came to me. An answer. The first lesson I ever taught myself.**

**Yes. If I were weak, I'd die. It's the order of life.**

**But I'm strong. I hate. And this boy, rank with fear, is already dead.**

**I slashed his throat.**

**It was Shisui who pulled me off him. I was covered in blood, and shaking.**

**“Idiot!” .....he bellowed in my ear. “We could have questioned him!”**

**Then I tore free of him, turning. “Don't touch me.” I still held the knife.**

**I was shaking with excitement. A nameless energy filling me. Here was someone I loved, who loved me. And I wanted to kill him. I could have, my certainty was so clear in that moment.**

**But he slapped me hard across the face. And, while my eyes were still filled with stars from the pain, held me so tight against him I couldn't breathe.**

**“Shit. Itachi. Don't . . . EVER . . .” .....he had no idea what to say.**

**I think he knew, then, where my path was headed. Knew it had already taken hold of me beyond any hope of return.**

**But when we returned to the village later, he said nothing to my father.**

**The power I had tasted on that mission, in that moment, was the precursor to the Mangekyou Sharingan. To put that feeling into words . . . it's near to impossible. It's standing on the threshold between winter and summer, feeling the sun on your face and knowing you will be warm if you step through. Then your boiling blood cools, and the door shuts, and you are left standing frozen in a colorless hell, so hollow you would crack if anyone touched you.**

**Once you've tasted that height, you can never stop reaching for it.**

**I killed Shisui on a warm night in autumn.**

**It was . . .**

**My parents caught me sneaking out before the dawn of that day. I claimed it was for a mission---one whose secret nature I could not divulge because my father was not in ANBU. He reminded me of my duties and told me where my loyalties should lie. I listened, I nodded, but his words meant nothing to me.**

**In reality, there wasn't any mission. I spent the day preparing myself for what I knew I had to do. When night fell . . . I was ready. I went into it with a clear mind.**

**Shisui was following me. Trailing me, as I knew my father had asked him to do, because my father had sensed the lie. I let my friend follow me for a ways, through the Uchiha compound, until I came to the stone bridge we'd jumped off of as children. There I stopped, and stood staring down at my reflection until Shisui finally showed himself.**

**“You knew I was there all along,” ....he accused me, coming to stand beside me. He rested his elbows on the bridge wall, looking downriver as he spoke.**

**I smiled. Shisui always had a knack for stating the obvious.**

**“My eyes are as good as yours,”..... I said.**

**He sighed, shaking his head and still refusing to look at me. “Your eyes are cold and sad,” .....he told me.**

**His words were simple, but coming from a young man who wasn't comfortable with speaking his heart they were heavy indeed. He understood me so well.**

**“I am sad,” ....I answered him. “So sad. Even with you beside me, I'm alone.”..... I meant every word. I was already grieving for him.**

**The human heart is a wonder. It can turn to steel even as it breaks.**

**Shisui nodded slowly. Once again, he could say nothing to me. I was an abyss he knew nothing could fill.**

**“Let's run, Shisui,”...... I said quietly. “On the water. Like we once did.”**

**When we were children, and the world had color and I hadn't learned what real strength was.**

**We jumped, into the river, and went racing beneath the hunter's moon. Feet splashing softly on the surface. Gentle brush of wind on our faces.**

**He was always faster. He ran ahead . . .**

**I . . . can't speak of it. What it felt like to watch his last breath rise through the water until it burst silver on the surface . . . That is the deepest pain I've known.**

**And I won't speak of it. That memory is for me alone.**

**I gained everything that night. And wept, for the last time.**

**After killing Shisui I went mad.**

**I didn't scream or rave. Nor did I destroy my clan in any violent fit of rage. When I did that, I was perfectly sane.**

**No. This was another kind of madness.**

**It was fortunate that I'd already forged Shisui's suicide note before I killed him, because afterward I would not have been capable of it. I climbed out of the river, spent, and sank dripping onto the stone walkway on the other side of the wall. Water from my sodden sleeves kept trickling down my arms and over my hands. I kept rubbing my palms against my pants; imagining in my horror that the water was blood.**

**After colorless years, I was seeing red again. Red enough to last a lifetime. The moon itself wept bloody tears.**

**I squeezed my eyes shut and hot darkness swallowed me.**

**When I opened them again, the moon had set. It was a blessing; with the light gone my clothes no longer dripped scarlet. Slowly, painstakingly, I rose to my feet. My hands and knees were shaking. It felt as if my vision were shaking, too. It was the beginning of the change in dojutsu, altering the focus of my eyes. I'd read about it before.**

**No sooner had I straightened to stand than I found myself doubling over again, vomiting. My knees hit the pavement with a bruising thud. On all fours I crawled away from the soiled ground and bowed over further, touching my forehead to the stone. It was clean and cold, like a hand on my brow.**

**“Shisui,”..... I whispered.**

**Then I pushed myself to my feet again. This time I didn't fall. If I didn't get up, move on, what I had done would be for nothing.** **I found a bucket nearby and used river water to clean the soiled walkway. It would dry before dawn, and leave no trace. Then I staggered home.** **No one saw me. If they had, I would have killed them.**

**As it was, I was able to climb in through my open window, remove my filthy clothes, and crawl into bed without waking anyone in the house.** **I wanted to sleep. Part of me even wanted to die.** **But I kept breathing. I lay on my stomach, pressing my face into my pillow. And because I was bold enough to live, madness took me again.**

**Blood beat a deafening tattoo in my brain, in my temples, in the veins stretched taut in my throat. I thought it was Shisui's heart, beating in my head, and the hair on my neck rose in horror. My own heart throbbed with grief too terrible to bear. I was chained in place; weighed down by the choice I'd made, of which there could be no unmaking.**

**The world spun and tilted behind my eyes, a maelstrom of chakra in my skull, dragging me over the edge of sanity again and again, each time plunging me to new depths of fear. But all through this, though I clutched the sheets to keep from tilting over each edge, I was dimly aware of my purpose. Aware that I mustn't wake anyone.**

**So the screams that contorted my face were smothered and silent. No one heard them.**

**Not even me**

**Some time before dawn, I woke covered in sweat, like one does when a fever breaks. Carefully I eased over onto my side, wiping away the hair stuck to my forehead. I sat up and looked at my face in my window. Activated my Sharingan.**

**But I couldn't see it well. I slid out of bed and padded across the wood floor for a closer look.**

**“Itachi.”.....at the sound of my mother's voice, I turned around so fast that my head reeled, and I was forced to lean a hand against the wall to keep from stumbling.**

**She rushed toward me, wearing a look of concern, and clasped me by the shoulders, supporting me over to the bed to sit down. She leaned over me, laying a hand across my brow. I wanted very badly to flinch the gentleness of the gesture repulsed me. Her face, so familiar with its crown of black hair and doe-eyes lined with good humor . . . She seemed a different creature entirely.** **Her fragility made my flesh crawl.**

**“You're sick,” ....she murmured, finally straightening and resting her hands on her hips. “I'll tell them you won't be going.”**

**I lifted my head sharply, squinting as the room whirled. “Who?” .....I asked hoarsely. “ANBU?” ......alarm shot through me in a hot wave.**

**“They had a mission for you, but you will stay here and rest,”..... she ordered.**

**Then she left me and walked down the hall. I remained tense, gripping the edge of the mattress and straining to hear. There were voices from the receiving hall, conferring in a civil tone.**

**Then silence.**

**When the silence went unbroken, I heaved a shaky sigh and lay down again. My mother didn't know it, but I had asked if ANBU was at our door for an entirely different reason. If they had found me out, I would not have known what to do next.**

**I buried my face in my hands, squeezing my eyes shut again. The truth was, even if they didn't find me out, I had no idea what I would do next. What does one do with that much power? What does one really do?**

**I was like a bird who had lived all its life in a cage, only to find the cage sprung open and to realize that so much else lay beyond the prison. Does it stay? Is having the freedom to choose enough, or must it take wing and see the sky?**

**But I was not a bird. And my wings weren't clipped.**

**In the end, I was ready to escape.**

**When I woke up later, it was already mid-morning. I rose and found my strength returned. I washed, I ate something. My sanity had also returned. But I was unnerved, not relieved. Had everything I'd suffered the previous night been for nothing? I remembered clearly what I'd done, and the pain of it was still with me. But I was frightened---frightened that the power that had driven me mad had somehow deserted me.**

**An unfounded fear, but not one I could ignore.**

**I sat down alone, on the back porch, to think. But Sasuke joined me. And for once, I was glad of the company. Somehow, it brought me peace to be with him. To sit beside Sasuke my other, purer self when my own heart was shattered into splinters.**

**“'Tou-san is always talking about you,” .....he said with childish frankness, staring glumly at the dust on the street in front of us.**

**“Am I . . . unpleasant?” .....I found myself asking. I was curious, for the first time, to hear what he thought of me from his lips instead of reading it from his behavior.**

**It's absurd the things that become important when you stand on the brink of becoming a new creature. I was asking him something so simple, but in my mind it was ready a question about the past. By that point, you see, the idea of what I would do with my newfound power was beginning to take shape.**

**From Sasuke's troubled silence, I could tell he knew much was amiss with me. I was indeed unpleasant. And I detected, beneath his confusion, traces of the hate-love that only rivalry can breed.**

**“That's not so bad,” ....I said lightly, leaning forward to rest my arms on my knees. “Shinobi usually live as hated people. Because they're said to be a problem.” .....the ghost of Uchiha Setsuna, speaking through my lips.**

**He was right, my former Sensei. We were a grand mistake. Every one of us, striving toward a purpose because, to begin with, we had none.**

**Life without meaning is its own brand of hell.**

**I laughed, short and light and bitter. “To be top notch is really something to think about,”..... I expounded. “To have strength is to become isolated and arrogant. Even though at first you were only chasing a dream.”**

**Then I stole a glance at Sasuke. His little face was a study in misery. But not for himself; for me.**

**He, with his child's simplicity, had a peace I'd learned to detest and long for all at once. And even though he didn't understand, he was sad for me. Like Shisui, standing next to me on the bridge. That look cut me to the quick.**

**I had to turn away. “You and I are special,”..... I told him. “To overcome your barriers, you and I have to continue living together.”**

**And I will make you my creature.**

**We were special, my shadow and I. And I was intrigued, in realizing that, to realize also that we needed no one else. I needed no one else. My clan, my village, meant nothing at all. Just him. A brother; an equal. A soul attuned to mine.**

**I smiled sadly at Sasuke.**

**"Always together, you and I,”..... I murmured, “Even if it means hating each other. That's what being an older brother means.”.....but he wasn't looking at me any more.**

**He'd turned at the sound of wood banging from somewhere inside the house. And then the sound as they called me out, demanding to speak with me.**

**I knew, already, why they'd come. And the knowing gave me a queer sort of confidence.**

**Yes, I know why you're here. I've killed. And I can do it again. What would you say to me?**

**“We had two men missing at last night's meeting,”.....  they said when I came to answer the door. “Why did you not come?”**

**Uchiha Araki, Uchiha Itsumo, Uchiha Masaki. My kinsmen. Their eyes were full of hate.**

**Why do you ask, when you know already?  I thought, anger flashing through me white-hot. I couldn't answer them. I wanted to spit in their faces.**

**“I can understand,” ....Itsumo said, “That you've been occupied with various missions since you joined the ANBU. Your father also told us that, and he's looking after you. However, we have no intention of treating you any differently.”**

**I am different, and you know it. Or you would not be hiding fear behind your outrage.**

**“I understand. I'll be more careful from now on. Please leave.” .....before I kill you.**

**Their shadows loomed closer still, oppressive and aggravating. I stood my ground, hating them.**

**“But before we go, there's one more thing you need to answer,” .....Masaki said, eyes narrowed to slits.**

**He was older than the other two, and of higher rank in the police force.**

**He was all business. “It's regarding the suicide by drowning in the Nakano River last night . . . of Uchiha Shisui.”**

**My heart leaped to my throat. But instead of fear, I was beginning to feel strangely excited. They knew. Of course they knew. Would they try to take me? I could test my strength on them . . .**

**“The other man absent last night was Shisui,”.... Itsumo elaborated. “I thought that you considered Shisui as a true brother.”**

**My emotions had become as inconstant as the tides on the shore. At this mention of Shisui, my blood turned to ice in my veins and my heart clenched. Such pain. Unbearable. I closed my eyes briefly, not wanting to see him die again in my memory.**

**When I opened them again, I felt drained. “I see. I haven't met with him recently. That is sad to hear.”**

**A silence stretched between us. They were puzzled they could see my grief was real. Behind me, I heard Sasuke shifting from one foot to the other, nervous.**

**At last, Itsumo swallowed and volunteered, “Thus we, the police force, have decided to investigate this incident fully.”**

**“An investigation,”.... I echoed softly.**

**They knew it was me. My grief puzzled them, but they knew. They only needed proof.**

**“This is Shisui's suicide note,” ....Masaki announced, holding up a folded sheet of paper I recognized immediately. “We already finished the handwriting analysis; there's no doubt it's his handwriting.”**

**“If it's suicide, what's left to investigate?” ....I asked.**

**Thanks to years of wearing the mask of stoicism, I was able to keep the ragged edge from my voice. My head was pounding; would they never shut up? I hated the sound of Shisui's name.**

**“For those who can use the Sharingan, it's quite easy to forge one's handwriting,” ....Itsumo pointed out.**

**His eyes were already tightening the noose around my throat. They handed me the note I'd forged.**

**I'm tired of the duties.**

**There is no future for the Uchiha or for me.**

**I cannot walk the path any further.**

**I stared at it. It was indeed a suicide note I'd written. Only it was the epitaph for my conscience, not for Shisui.**

**“He was feared as Shisui of the Mirage,” ....Masaki intoned. “One of the most talented Uchiha. He was someone who would do any mission for the clan.”**

**Itsumo's black eyes bored into mine. “I doubt a man like him would leave something like this behind and die.”**

**My hand began to tremble. I lowered the paper, denting it as my fingers squeezed into a fist." A man who does any mission? Is that all he was to you? A tool? Rage surged through me. I am sick to death of your gods of duty."**

**My face burned as I glared at them. “It's not wise to judge others by your preconceptions and their appearances.”**

**“I'm going to leave the matter to you,”.... Itsumo informed me. “Take the note to the ANBU and request that they investigate as well.”**

**I said nothing as they shifted, reluctantly turning to go. Were they punishing me, assigning me the task of solving the murder I'd committed? My own guilt was greater than anything their accusations could inflict.**

**They left me with a warning: “We have connections with ANBU, also. If you hide anything, we'll know immediately.”**

**I looked down at the floor. Watched dust motes settle in the sun. Their backs were turned, so they didn't see my face contort. I couldn't seem to keep my emotions in check. It no longer seemed worth the effort; they were deaf and blind and stupid.**

**The words came spilling out. “Why don't you be more direct?”**

**All three came to a halt at once, like marionettes on the same string. Looked at me over their shoulders. I knew then they'd been waiting for this; their eyes wheeled red with the Sharingan. They had been playing upon my anger to get me to confess.**

**“So you're suspicious of me,” ....I murmured.**

**My own eyes changed.**

**Turning, Itsumo snarled, “Yes, brat.”**

**Turning, Masaki threatened, “Listen, Itachi: if you betray the clan, you won't go unpunished.”**

**My heart turned to flame. And I ceased to think.**

**They flew at me. I became like a cornered beast ,a beast with bite. With taijutsu, with ninjutsu, I pushed them back from my doorway, into the street.**

**In doing the unthinkable to attack one's clan members I found an unexpected exhilaration. When they lay beaten around me, and I knelt out of sheer exhaustion in their midst, I thought, I've broken the pattern. And seen a glimpse of the possible.**

**With a grunt, I pushed myself to my feet.**

**“As I've said just now . . . don't judge others . . . simply by your preconceptions and their appearance.”.... I swayed where I stood, panting; a weary god glaring at ants. “You assumed . . . that I have patience.”**

**My exhaustion granted me a kind of drunken exultance. And my shattered heart came spilling out as spite. “The clan, the clan,” ....I sneered raggedly. “You all fail to measure your own capacity, and to see the depth of mine. And as a result you lie beaten here.”**

**“Shisui was told to keep an eye on you,”..... Masaki said darkly, attempting to push himself into a sitting position. “Within half a year of your entrance into the ANBU, your actions and speech were getting stranger than ever. What exactly are you thinking?”**

**What are you thinking? Amazing how no one thought to ask until I became a danger! People acknowledge power, and only power. Deep down, we all know there's nothing else.**

**I rounded on Masaki. “You hold onto the organization, your clan, your name. These things limit us and our capacities. These things deserve to be cast aside.” ...my voice lowered to an impassioned whisper. “It is foolish to fear what we've yet to see and know.”**

**I don't know what I might have done then, if my father hadn't appeared to stop me. In fact, everything might have ended then and there if he hadn't. I might have killed the three who'd come to arrest me, but I was weak from the night before, and tired. I could not have taken on the entire clan then without being subdued and apprehended.**

**But thanks to my father's stupid pride in his heir, I survived to fight another day.**

**“Stop this,”... he told me wearily, as if I were some naughty child he found it a chore to rebuke. “What in the world is wrong? You've been acting strange lately.”**

**I had the sudden, wild urge to laugh. But I didn't, knowing I might never stop once I'd started. There was a time when I was proud that the dutiful mask I wore fooled everyone. But now I had no pride left, and the mask was lined with cracks. I just wanted to be seen for once. My true face.**

**“Nothing's strange,”..... I told my father heavily. “I'm just carrying out my duty . . .”..... I faltered the word duty was like acid on my tongue.**

**“Then, why did you not come last night?” .....he pressed.**

**So naïve. He must have loved me, or he wouldn't have been so weak.**

**At last I finished my sentence: “. . . in order to reach the height.”**

**“The what?”**

**Of course he didn't understand. Of course. How could he? His stupid loyalty to me was as much a dagger in my heart as my kinsmen's accusations. My eyes flared crimson. SEE me. SEE me! For once, open your eyes and SEE what I AM!**

**My fist rose. In a blur, I'd snapped a kunai backward, sending it on a crow's path behind me. There it embedded itself in wood, dead center on its target.**

**The Uchiha emblem.**

**In order to test the limits . . .“. . . of my capacity,” ......I finished aloud.**

**My tone could have frozen hell. “I've lost all hope for this pathetic clan. You forget what is most important to you because you cling to something small like your clan. True change can't be made if it's bound by laws and limitations, predictions and imagination.”...... It was like someone else was speaking through my lips.**

**Then I remembered that Orochimaru had also said this. And that he'd spoken of an organization, whose members were above laws and strictures. Suddenly, his proposition began to appeal to me.**

**“What arrogance!” .....my father barked. “Enough already. If you continue this nonsense, we will have to take you to jail. So what now?”**

**A heavy silence fell between us. The gravity of the situation washed over me in a hot wave of alarm.**

**I could not go to jail. I could not. It would have been easy for me to say my very life had become a prison to me, but it would not have been the same. Do you know what shinobi prisons are like? Perhaps the most infamous is the jail in the Village Hidden in the Clouds, but that is another story entirely. The point is that I wanted to investigate Orochimaru's organization. And I was determined that nothing no one would stop me.**

**"We can't put up with you any more,”...... Itsumo snarled, on his feet at last and glaring at me. “Captain! Please order an arrest!”**

 " **Stop, brother!” ....Sasuke cried.**

**I closed my eyes. There it was. My way out. I sank to my knees before them. I bowed in the street, my forehead touching stone, and I heard them shift in surprise.**

**"** **It was not me who killed Shisui,”.... I told them, “But for the words I have spoken I am deeply sorry.” .....my voice was indeed thick with sorrow, for speaking Shisui's name made my eyes burn with tears.**

**Then I waited, keeping my head bowed. I could tell my father's reaction simply by his silence. He knew. But I was his future. And his child. He was a proud man, who couldn't bear to hate anything he viewed as a part of himself. He should have known; if I was ever a part of him, the ties had been frayed relentlessly over the years until they severed. In my heart, I was no longer Uchiha.**

**“Lately, he has been busy from ANBU missions, and has been worn out,” ......my father said at last.**

**“Captain!”...... Itsumo protested.**

**“ANBU is a battalion under the Hokage's direct authority,” .....my father continued. “Even the police forces cannot arrest them without an official order. Besides, I will take full responsibility for my son.” ....he could not keep the weariness from creeping into his tone when voicing that last reason. I might have been his future, but I was also his burden. Poetic justice.**

**He bowed his proud head before his kinsmen. “Please.”**

**That was the final deciding factor. In humbling himself before them, my father had vouched for my character in a way that even laws and strictures could not. I will never, to this day, understand why anyone is impressed by humility.**

**“Understood, Sir,”.... Itsumo consented.**

**He turned away from me, and strode off with his comrades. But before he turned, I saw the line of his cheek and brow in silhouette. He was sad. It reminded me of Shisui-Shisui with his sorrowful acceptance of me even when he sensed the dark path I was on. Except my kinsman was sorry for my father.**

**“Itachi, come inside,” ....my father called to me, already heading for our porch.**

**Still kneeling in the road, I cast him a look of pure hatred. I hated his receding back. I hated his weariness. I hated the symbol he wore, and in that instant imagined a kunai embedding itself not in wood, but flesh.**

**I think, after that, my father began losing hope in me.**

**Certainly he didn't trust me. He watched me like a hawk. And for a while, he would not allow me to go out on missions. I was to rest. As if disillusionment is a disease you can recover from.**

**I stalked the halls of our house on tiger's feet, restless and ready to explode at a word. But the people in my family began handling me as if I were so fragile a word might shatter me. My mother's kindness became stifling. My father's choice to overlook the changes in me reached the point where he could hardly speak to me at all. He had decided to ignore the darkness building to a crux in me, but in doing so I became invisible to him, because the darkness had become who I was. His deliberate inattention made me feel like a ghost in my own home.**

**And Sasuke . . . Sasuke, with his incessant asking. He wanted me to train with him. At the time, my temper simmered constantly, and I hated him for his devotion. I'm a prisoner. You have your freedom, because your heart is warm and you follow their pattern. Stupid little brother, why should I care what you do?**

**But I never told him these things outright. I thought he was so empty of hatred that he could never understand me . . . I thought that. Until it came to me at last: a way to teach him hatred.**

**I never made it to the Rice Country. I cut through the cemetery in the morning, and spent the day running through the forest to the northwest of Konoha, beneath a dreamlike canopy of green. It was cool there, and the wind of my passage rushed against my face, cooling my skin and calming me. Another brand of calm was stealing through me at the same time, from the inside out. For so long I'd been waiting, like a worm in its cocoon, for the change to come. And now I knew what it was, and I was waking from that long dream.**

**But come dusk, when the shadows lengthened and the dying sun burned the treetops, my quest ended before it had even begun. Ahead, where the forest thinned into a clearing, someone stood waiting for me.**

**He measured a head above my height, cloaked in black with red clouds embroidered on the cloth. He wore a straw hat that hid his face in shade, but I could still see the intensity of the gaze fixed upon me from beneath the brim. He stood motionless as a pillar in the shade of the thick branches.**

**And he stopped my slow advance with one sentence.“You will not go to Orochimaru.”**

**I knew this interloper wasn't from Konoha. The Akatsuki have a way about us that sets us apart: we do not kneel; we do not bow. And we speak our minds without preamble.**

**“Who are you, that I should listen?” .....I asked.**

**The stranger's eyes flickered. “You would be wasted on him. But . . . I think you knew that.”**

**I rose slowly from the defensive stance I'd assumed. He seemed to read my face like a scroll.**

**“He has fallen into . . . disfavor with us,” .....he continued. “He begins to forget our ambitions for his own. And he would have you, with your bloodline limit, give him your servitude. And your flesh.”**

**“I seek the strong,”..... I replied. “If your organization is stronger than the one you warn me against, why don't you kill him?” .....a muscle in my wrist was twitching---there were kunai inside the sleeves of my black Uchiha jacket, and I was ready to draw one if need be.**

**The stranger's cold eyes narrowed. “......it might interest you to know that even in his deviance he serves us.**

**Whether he wishes to or not. Just as being part of us serves his purposes. He has laboratory facilities spread across four countries. Whom do you think supplied him with replacements, for the resources he lost access to after he fled Konoha sixteen years ago?”**

**I sensed the same ruthless truth in this man that Orochimaru possessed. And it gave me hope.**

**“I know what you've done,” .....he said, unexpectedly. “We have spies in Konoha. You have already made one sacrifice to gain power. But your situation is unique, for your actions have gone unpunished. Under the shadow of your village's shelter, you are still bound to the path you were raised to walk. So there remains one barrier between you and the Akatsuki.”**

**A muscle in my jaw quirked. I knew what barrier it was and in my heart, I had already killed them.**

**Then he spoke the words that forever linked my fate to his:“A man can't know himself until he knows his weaknesses. If you desire true power, you must let go of what you've become, and start learning what you are.”**

**Without a word, I turned from him. Shed my jacket, dropping the Uchiha emblem into the dirt. And started back to the village.**

**They let me in through the gates without question. It was laughably easy. They saw a genius and a boy and a Jounin instead of the seething blackness of my intent. I strode down the familiar, colorless streets, looking at nothing and no one.**

**Then I came to the Uchiha compound. Fan emblems, painted or sewn onto everything. My chest burned, as if I could still feel the scars from where they'd tried to stitch their emblem into my soul. In the peculiar shadows of evening, time lengthened and distorted.**

**I began killing almost without thought.**

**I strolled down the walkways, along fence after fence, and with my own two hands I slashed the throat of every one I met. The eerie calm that had stolen over me in the forest that day hardened into a core of steel, so that every familiar face, every gasp, every cry, every gurgled last breath struck me but did not penetrate my flesh. I used my Sharingan on them and they dropped where I passed. The power was extraordinary. It was as if I were wearing Shisui's death like armor, and no one and nothing could touch me.**

**I had already killed my soul, on a moonlit night on the river. There was nothing left to touch me o** **r so I thought.**

**I carved myself a path straight to the police headquarters. By virtue of the swift deaths I'd dealt to those who were so stupidly surprised by my betrayal that some even died smiling  no alarm had been raised yet. I strode directly in. Itsumo was there. And the others, who'd accused me. I came in boldly, with the blood of our kinsmen splattered across my shins and forearms. In places there were red hand-prints, where some had dug their fingers into me, as if touching me would save them from my blades.**

**The police force, gathered for a meeting, was not the herd of lambs I'd slaughtered on the streets. They knew immediately what I'd done. They flew at me, snarling vengeance. But they died. The Mangekyou Sharingan felled them like trees great proud oaks axed asunder, lying pathetically on the wood floor and weeping, screaming, clawing at themselves. Their minds were broken even before I broke their flesh.**

**From that point on, it was easy. So easy. No alarm was raised. That may sound unreasonable, but it wasn't. There is just no way to describe the speed with which I killed. It seems unreal, even to me, and I know my capabilities. I learned my capabilities on that day. That slow. Eternal. Day.**

**I was a footstep in a doorway. A katana edge. A dark hand blurring as it slashed each throat. A slice. A puncture. A flick of wrist to spatter red drops like jewels from the end of kunai.**

**Did any of it touch me? None. Children, women, adults, the old. Everyone bleeds the same. Heads rolled. Hearts burst like overripe fruit.**

**At last, when the hunter's moon rose round and full as a pearl, I crouched atop a high pole, peering down through a web of wires to survey what I'd done. It was . . . I felt .**

**I had killed everyone who had returned home on time. Except for one house.**

**My house was large and set back on its own, quieter street. I saw no signs of alarm from within, though lantern-light glowed through the panes of the windows. They didn't know yet. Good.**

**I heard from afar the sound of small feet pattering over the dirt. I knew who it was, even though from that distance I couldn't see his face. He had been absent all day. But instead of rushing to confront him now, I turned and leaped down from my eyrie. There was work to be done.**

**My father's back was to me when I entered. He sat across from my mother, at the low kitchen table.**

**At the sight of me, my mother's smile froze and her face went death-white. I blinked, standing on the threshold and grasping the door frame to keep from swaying where I stood. I was suddenly, poignantly reminded of the feudal lord and his wife, whom we'd assassinated. Past and present blurred.**

**"They're the same," ......I thought, and the realization staggered me. "Those we killed, and these two sitting here. All of them, the same.' Even familiarity, the ghost of love, couldn't sway me. I knew that now."**

**My father spoke at last, rising to stand. “Itachi. Where have you gone.” .....he didn't turn yet, but there was very little question in his words. “What have you done?” .....he asked when I kept silent. But he knew.**

**“Itachi,”..... my mother said softly, rising as well and approaching us.**

**I could answer neither of them. I stood rooted in place. It was as if I'd become something mute and unmoving a pale statue in ANBU garb who'd forgotten human speech, capable of nothing more than staring at a back he hated while trickling scarlet from the edge of the two katana clenched in his fists. Was it fear that made me hesitate? Perhaps. These two were the last impediment . . . but then, at the last, I felt the connection between us. The ties of blood. Now that they were seeing me for what I really was.**

**As if of its own volition, one of my feet shifted forward, toward my father's back. He turned, at last.**

**“What have you done.”.....he repeated it in that same non-questioning tone, flat and dead.**

**His eyes were aflame now. He was going to do it. He was ready to fight Itachi, at last. Not the genius, not the heir, not the ANBU nor the Jounin, nor the beloved son.**

**There were no more names left between us. His Sharingan wheeled into life. His hands formed a seal. My hand moved before his. The katana point cut an arrow's straight path for his chest. It struck my mother instead.**

**The blow of her death broke my father's concentration. He caught her, and his red eyes turned downward in a stare of disbelief. I made no immediate move to follow the attack; I merely stood there, panting. Something about this death had made me wearier than the others. I waited as my father lowered her to the ground, then rose with murder in his eyes.**

**Then I struck him with the Mangekyou Sharingan. With Tsukiyomi, the bane of sanity. In it, I showed him what I'd done.**

**“What is this?”..... he cried. “Where am I? Itachi!”**

**My voice came out glacial and sharp, penetrating the darkness in which I'd imprisoned him. “This is nowhere. This is hell. This is emptiness. Know it, and despair.”**

**“Why?”..... he roared, clutching himself and sinking to his knees. “Why are they all gone? Why are they all dead? Why did you have to take everything?”**

**Despite myself, I swallowed hard. To show you what it means to be truly alone. To show you the world through my mind. To make you UNDERSTAND me . . . was what I wanted to say. But I hated him too much to show him that weakness.**

**Instead, I answered, “I am only doing as you've taught me.”**

**His jaw clenched so tight in agony that his breath whistled between his teeth. “I did not teach you this,” .....he hissed.**

**“The greatest goals require sacrifice. No power without a price; no strength without cost.”.....my face was a mask of ice. “Did you not teach me that? Shinobi are not born powerful to make martyrs of themselves.”**

**His voice dropped to a whimper, like a child's. “Even . . . even Sasuke?”**

**“I won't end his life,”..... I said. “But his soul I will take.”**

**I lifted the second katana and swung.**

 


	55. ITACHI - AKATSUKI

 

 ****Since water of the womb**  
**I knew I'd have to face you**  
**The colour of my bites**  
**Yes they remind me of you**  
**In your blood I write**  
**I am not afraid**  
**This is who I am**  
**And I will never be like you**  
**I do not kneel**  
**All Im asking**  
**Is nothing sacred anymore?**  
**Sailing through the flood**  
**Why did he keep two of you**  
**Splinter in your mind's eye**  
**My Phoenix rises to swoop**  
**Still floating in the gray water of your womb**  
**Take the edge of my thumbs**  
**Bury the nails deep into your eyes**  
**Maybe then you'll see my light**  
**I'd rather crawl, drooling with the beggars**  
** **They've got more to say**

**When it was finished, exhaustion claimed me so quickly I was absurdly tempted to lie down on my own bed and sleep. Part of it was the strain of using the Mangekyou Sharingan. Part of it was that portion of me that I couldn't erase. The connection I'd felt at the last.**

**I am truly alone now, I thought. In flesh and spirit.**

**I don't know what moved me to do so, but I carried them into their bedroom. I planned to lay them on their sleeping mats, side by side, as if this were some ordinary night from which morning would wake them.**

**But in the end I was distracted by the sound of my brother calling for them.**

**“Sasuke . . . Don't come in . . .”......my voice sounded hoarse and strange like a man who hadn't slept in weeks.**

**He came in anyway.**

**“Father! Mother!”..... he cried.**

**Briefly, I averted my gaze. Sighed. He was still so very much a child. So innocent.It was time to rob him of that.My eyes flashed crimson at him.**

**“Brother! Father and mother are . . . ! Why?! Why?! Who the hell . . . this . . .”.......he cried.**

  **He was becoming hysterical. This wouldn't do. He must listen and listen well to what I had to say, or he would never understand. And if he never understood, he would never become the equal I longed for.**

**I snapped a small shuriken past his face. It sliced a line of scarlet across his thin shoulder, then embedded itself in the door behind him.**

**And still he looked at me with those awful innocent eyes. Wide and blameless. I couldn't stand it. I hated his innocence and craved it all at once. I wanted it gone. To make him what I'd already become, so he couldn't cause me pain by loving me.**

**“Foolish little brother,”...... I murmured not without sadness.**

**Then I took a deep breath, and in the throes of my power, showed him what hell was.**

**When it was over, he lay trailing spittle from one corner of his mouth. I waited as he lifted his head. To see how he would judge me.**

**“Why?”....... he asked softly. “Why . . . did you . . . ?”**

**Twisted relief seeped through me. He wanted to understand. Because he could not envision me doing this without reason. I was filled with hope for him.**

**But now was not the time for me to show it. I had to break him before I could reshape him into something strong. “It was to measure my capacity,”...... I told him calmly.**

**“To test your . . . capacity?” .......he pressed: “That's all? That's the only reason . . . you killed everyone . . . for that?”**

**Was it? I lowered my gaze. Probing the depths of my own intentions. No, it wasn't the only reason. There was so much more. But he was a child, who had never killed before. I doubt he'd even drawn blood. Time would have to cure him of his lack of insight. Time, and what I was about to tell him.**

**“It was essential,”...... I answered.**

**“That's . . . CRAP!”...... he cried and he ran towards me.**

**Adrenaline washed through me. Excitement. Even as I struck him down with one fist. I knew, then. He was destined to judge me, one day, as an equal. He had already learned hatred. He wanted revenge.**

**He hit the wood floor with a bruising thud. When he pushed himself up again, his eyes shimmered with tears, and his nose with snot.**

**He fled me, mewling like a wounded animal. Threw open the sliding doors with a bang. I matched him stride for stride. Cut him off in the street.**

**For a moment, I just stood there, letting my presence quiet him. Even terror stricken, even with our parents' blood still drying on my hands, he turned to me, like a flower to the sun. I was all he had now.**

**"Listen to me....".......I said with my silence." And ask why? Never stop asking why?"**

**“You can't be my brother,”....... he wailed, “because . . .”**

**I had no patience for denial. He had to accept what I'd done. That I had done it.**

**“The brother you wanted to spend time with has done this,” .....I cut him off, “To ascertain your capacity. I acted the older brother, as you desired. To see if that potential lies hidden in you. You found me disagreeable and hated me. You continued wanting to surpass me, and for that, I will let you live . . . for my sake.”**

**I told him then. I had to. To burn it forever into his mind.**

**"** **You can awaken the same Mangekyou Sharingan I can. However, there is a requirement.” .....I lowered my gaze, fixed him hard with it.**

**Remember this. Remember it, my eyes were saying. “You must kill . . . your closest friend. In order to become like me.”**

**Again, I let my silence speak. Let the poisonous secret seep into his marrow. I could see him processing it. I could see his tongue searching for words, standing in the empty dust on a dead street.**

**“Ah . . . brother . . . brother, did you kill Shisui-san?”......my eyes narrowed.**

**I no longer allowed myself the indulgence of lingering over that pain. I could not afford to. I was exhausted, and before me stood the last step in becoming what I was always meant to be.**

**“Thanks to him, I was able to obtain this `eye.' At the main temple of the Nakano Shrine, on the far right side under the seventh tatami mat, is the clan's secret meeting place. There you will find what purpose the dojutsu of the Uchiha clan originally served.”...... I felt the ghost of a wry smile twist my lips. “The real secret is written there.”.....the smile sharpened, and hunger crept into my tone. “If you open your eyes to the truth . . . including myself, there will be three people who can handle the Mangekyou Sharingan. In that case . . . there would be a reason to let you live.”..... I took a step toward him. Threatening. “Right now . . .”**

**He began to retreat, a high-pitched choking noise emitting from his throat. His pupils were round and pale as the moon.**

**“It would be worthless to kill someone like you, my foolish brother,”..... I continued inexorably. “If you want to kill me, curse me! Hate me! Live with your unsightly cowardice, until you grow twisted. Run away, run, and cling to your pitiful life. And someday, when you have the same eyes I do, come before me.”**

**I used the Mangekyou Sharingan, for the last time that night. And he dropped into the dust.**

**I left him lying there, cold as the corpses around him.**

**And I put him from my mind.**

**It was now my prerogative to escape Konoha. All was quiet, but soon someone cutting across the Uchiha quarters from above would look down from the rooftops or fence-lines and see the dead-strewn roads. Then the alarm would sound.**

**And beyond Konoha's gates, I suspected greater dangers than the Leaf awaited me. And also, great things.**

**I started running.**

**There was no sense of freedom after what I'd done. I'd thought there would be. When you cut your chains, aren't they supposed to fall away? If I was not happy with my clan, why should I be unhappy without them? I asked myself that, back then. I think it was the weakness of the human need to belong. I have joined Akatsuki, I may share its aims, but I do not belong to it. The ties we forge only serve to fetter the mind.**

**Back then, even though I had killed them, the weight had not lifted. All I felt was the sudden, driving urgency to move. It was as if, now that I'd set things in motion, my life had become an avalanche I couldn't stop. I had exchanged the shackles of Konoha, which would never let me run where I wished, for the curse of never doing anything but running.**

**I made it all the way to Konoha's southern gate before the alarms finally sounded. That was how quickly I'd killed my clan; the moon was just setting as I scaled the massive wall. I panted as I ran, tired and disoriented. The sudden cacophony of noises echoing through the village confused me....outraged cries, screams, orders, people leaping across the rooftops searching for the killer. The confusion was an irritant. I didn't like that the commotion behind me reminded me of what I'd just done, because some level of me, some deeper core, knew that it was an unforgivable thing. That I deserved death.**

**I ran up the wall, gritting my teeth against the noise, wishing the muted thud of my sandals on the heavy wood would drown it out.**

**But once I'd scaled the wall and run down the other side, I descended into an eerie hush. Eager to drop into the safe darkness of the forest's embrace, I let myself fall the last twenty feet of the wall, landing in a crouch on a carpet of moss. I tensed; it wasn't the quietest of landings. Bizarrely, the sound had startled me. My throat went thick as I waited for someone to come after me, rain down judgment.**

**After what seemed an eternal few minutes, no one came. I stood up, slow and grim-faced. My knees ached, and so did my head. The quiet here was still as death. It was the empty quiet that falls briefly on a place, before it is overrun with danger. They might be coming for my death, but I was already dead to them. I swallowed against a dry throat and took off, heading north as fast as I could.**

**I wanted the man from Akatsuki to find me. But after nearly an hour of hurtling through the branches, I was still running by myself.**

**"If he won't find me I'll go to his rival,'".....I thought.**

**I was hoping he wanted me enough to stop me from going to Orochimaru. If I could not find people like me, I sensed that I was going to run forever instead, a scared rogue wolf, preying on whatever he could and achieving nothing but survival. I wasn't an animal; I needed more than survival.**

**I needed a purpose.**

**Orochimaru found me first.**

**He found me twenty miles out from Konoha.**

**His voice floated down through the trees, sinuous and sly. “You've done it, haven't you.” .....It was not a question.**

**My body, already strung taut with nerves from the night's bloody work, reacted immediately. Before my mind could form a verbal response, my fingers had flung eight kunai upward, toward the sound of his voice. They sang wickedly through the sleepy forest air, embedded themselves somewhere in wood above me with sharp, vicious impact.**

**“You've come to me,” .....he said, in a deeper, condescending tone I didn't like.**

**He coalesced from the green shadows of a tree at ground level; he'd taken shape from the mossy bark itself---the same jutsu he'd used to escape me the last time. But he wasn't running now. He'd caught me off guard, throwing his voice but approaching me from the side. And his gaze on me was nothing like a master's for his star pupil. Rather, it was like I was the meal he'd been starving for. As if now that he thought I'd finally stopped resisting him, I'd been reduced in his eyes to a living, speaking chunk of meat.**

**But I was not an animal and I have no master.**

**“I'm going to Akatsuki,” .....I answered, sinking my stance even lower to spring, like a cornered tiger. “If you are not with them, I want nothing from you.”**

 H **e wore their black cloak, decorated with red clouds like blotches of blood. And a wide-brimmed straw hat, from which there dangled a single bell. On his hand he bore a ring with insignia on it that I couldn't read from that distance. He was dressed like one of them. But I remembered the other Akatsuki member's warning. They did not trust Orochimaru, and I would be wise not to trust him, either.**

**His lips stretched into a grin, and he stopped twenty feet away from me. “Oh, I think you wanted to find me. Or you would still be running.”**

**Disappointment clenched into a knot in my chest. As I ran, I'd wanted two things and two things only: Akatsuki or the Leaf. But Orochimaru was the middle ground; the easy death where I wouldn't have to face those I'd wronged. I couldn't have explained at the time why I didn't want my death to be easy, but that's how it was. Ah . . . that's not to say that I want to die now, either. But even my death someday must have meaning, or I can't say that I've lived.**

**Before Orochimaru I straightened, squaring my shoulders. I was a man. What I had done had aged me beyond the possibility that I could ever be a child again. I must become the man I was meant to be. And he must see that, because he was the voice of my doubts.**

**“I will run until I reach Akatsuki,”..... I said sharply. “If you are not Akatsuki, then I will pass you by.”**

**His eyes narrowed, and for a brief instant I caught a gleam of fear. It gave me strength. I knew that if you had someone's fear, you had power over them. The Hyuuga I had killed in the arena. Sasuke. Those feeble teachers of mine, whose lessons trail after me like shadows.**

**I sprang forward.**

**And he convulsed, like a man **retching**. The air between us seemed to waver. He struck at me, neck elongating like a serpent's. It was like a face from a kabuki stage, ghastly white and expressionless. Except the mouth yawned wide as it came at me, hungry and foul, fangs like needle points. Yawned and breath like cloying sweet wine, with a hint of rotting wet leaves brushed my cheek like a sly hand. Disgusting. He's a poison, I thought. Burn it, purge it, raze it down.**

**And then the clearing was full of dark shapes, black capes flocked with crimson clouds, fluttering like bats' wings as they swarmed me. It was an ambush.**

**Akatsuki had found me. And they were going to kill me.**

**Until this moment, I had always been fighting for a purpose. I never found joy in killing; only in the end the means brought if I had truly hated my opponent. But now my last hope was crushed, for Akatsuki didn't want me. There was no purpose left. And the thing that had been chained inside me, that killing my clan had not freed, snapped free. The forest air, the blades nestled in my palms, the sweat that trickled between my shoulder blades and down my temples . . . took on a queer intensity. It was as if the world was breathing me in, preparing to spit me out.**

**My last coherent thought before the clash was, "You will not spit me out. I will burst free of my own will."**

**There is a place, in battle, where you lose yourself and become everything that you are fighting against. Ordinary life is black and white and red; wrong and right and blood. But in battle, in the clashing of true strength on strength . . . you can find a place where the brilliance drowns everything out. Where you become your enemy's hatred, feed off it, swallow it whole. You and they are lightning, your footsteps thunder.**

**I had never known this before, in all my life. Tasted it, maybe. The Hyuuga boy, the towering sight of the Kyuubi destroying everything in its path. Yet here it was, rained upon me. Destruction.**

**I thought, "This is a good time to die."**

**I must have smiled.**

**But I did not die.**

**Instead they beat me down.**

  **I could not use the Mangekyou Sharingan against them, for I had already exhausted that dojutsu in Konoha. At the time I could not differentiate between the jutsu of my attackers. My skin was broken and white hot, nerves wires of pain threaded through limbs that somehow refused to fall. I could not stop myself, someone would have to nail me to the earth to make me still.**

**Akatsuki is the greatest strength I have ever known. They knew I would not be stilled until I fell. Their faces blurred around me, some grinning, slavering, insane, some cold and stone-hard with purpose. Blades pierced me through, slid through me like pins through cloth. I was in too much pain to feel them. The breath burning in my chest burst forth as fire, I could not have held it back if I had tried.**

**At the pinnacle of this timeless, brilliant moment, they felled me. Bruised face upturned as if in worship, I finally succumbed. Flesh is flesh, after all.**

**And they did not kill me.**

  **Darkness reeled through my pounding skull. My head dropped. Then it lifted. I was caught in their arms, they were pulling me upright, pulling my hair to tilt me back so they could see my eyes. I tried to swallow, the brilliance fading. The euphoria's dissipation was slow.**

**“He's finished,” .....one of them said.**

**“What . . .?”.... I managed, around a blood-thickened tongue.**

**My nose was broken; the pain of speaking was dull and unbearable all at once.**

**Someone approached. I could scarcely see who. All I could see were shadows in the fading brilliance, surrounded by these living ghosts in the wood. They were the ghosts of my desires. I strained red-rimed eyes to see them more clearly. They were everything I wanted, and I could hardly breathe for fear they would sink back into dreaming.**

**The shadow approaching me was my height, or the height I would have been if I were able to stand straight. I had no pride here and no defense. He could do with me what he would. In the back of my mind a quiet, tired voice whispered, Finally, someone with the power to judge me.**

**Oh let me be worthy.**

**Else there is nothing.**

**He touched a hand to my swollen cheek. His hand was cool and steady, but even in that state I could see his eyes were more a threat than his killer's hand. He possessed a bloodline limit I did not know at the time. His eyes sent a shudder down my spine. My shoulders would have shaken were they not held in the vise of the three Akatsuki holding me fast.**

**“I am Pein,” ......he said. “We have shown you pain to prove ourselves to you.”**

**He leaned closer, a faint smile amused on his lips. He was young, like me. “You wouldn't join us otherwise, would you?”**

**My lips moved, cracked. Tried to form the word no. Failed. But he understood. He was the one who had come to me and told me to kill my clan.**

**“You have suffered,” .....he said softly, stepping back. “Already, before we laid a hand on you. You paid a price for your power. We all do. But pain is good, if it is for a purpose. Suffering is a power unto itself.”**

**He spoke like a monk. And I understood, even with my concussion-addled senses, that he believed in a cause greater than himself. A zealot. I had always looked down upon zealots. But I could not deny his power. I wanted to swim in it, wrap myself inside it, sleep inside that cocoon until I emerged as something new. Unfold black wings and leave my chains behind, in the discarded husk of the boy who had loved Shisui.**

**“I will join you,” .....I whispered, voice ragged with blood-salt.**

**He nodded once, fixing his terrible gaze on mine as he did so. I held it, broken though I was.**

**Then he turned and moved away. My vision swam, then re-focused. I saw him stand before a pale figure, who was also being held by two cloud-cloaked brethren opposite me in the clearing.**

**“You have gone above and beyond what was asked,” Pein said softly. But there was a razor edge to his words that had not been present when he spoke to me. “What was that jutsu?”**

**Orochimaru grinned. I could see the gleam of his teeth. “I was going to subdue him for you. But it seems you were all in a mood to thrash him.”**

**Without another word, Pein slid past him and started into the green darkness of the wood. In response to Orochimaru's answer, his silence was like a door swinging quietly shut. I sensed that Orochimaru's time with these men was running out.**

**“Bring him,” .....Pein called, voice disembodied by the night. He has a voice like silver.**

**“We'll heal you elsewhere, Itachi-san,”...... someone else told me politely. “Where your countrymen won't follow.”**

**Even as he reassured me of this, my mind was fading into somewhere my countrymen couldn't follow.**

**When I awoke again, it was to the sound of birds twittering, and a gentle stream of yellow-green sunlight through leaves.**

**And to something oval with a spiral on it looming over me.**

**“Zetsu-sama! He's awake! Oi, Zetsu-sama!”........**

**Fortunately this glad proclamation was muffled by the oval, which was actually a mask. Otherwise, the noise would have startled me, and my hand would have gone for the kunai pouch at my hip, which they had left on me. Now, of course, I know that kunai would have been as useless as flinging a handful of feathers at him . . . But back then, my instincts would have compelled me to defend myself from him. He wasn't wearing a ring like the others, nor a hitae ate with a slash through his village's insignia. He wasn't wearing Akatsuki's cloak, either. And, judging from the exuberance of his voice, I could practically hear the idiot's grin behind the mask.**

**This man was simple.**

**Or so I thought.**

**“Get off him, Tobi,”........ someone said, and I heard footsteps shuffling through the grass, presumably Zetsu's.**

**Someone squatted beside me, resting long elbows on his knees. Half of his face was black, the other white, and his head was encased in what looked like the mouth of a giant carnivorous plant. His eyes had an odd, blank intensity to them, as if he were staring at me but seeing something else more clearly than he did what was right in front of him. He smelled like death and rotting leaves.**

**“Are you going to eat him, Zetsu-sama?” ......the idiot asked, hovering nearby.**

**Zetsu sighed, as if Tobi's voice had brought him back to earth. “And why would we heal him so I could eat him?” His voice was soft, and slightly lisping.**

**“He's prettier now?” Tobi ventured.**

**Ignoring him, Zetsu said to me, “Pein has a message for you, now that you're awake.”**

**"Only a message?"...... I thought. "What about the truth of this organization? What of its goals?"**

**“You will be sent on a mission,” ......Zetsu explained. “Everything will be explained to you along the way.”**

**“I'd hoped to meet the others,” .....I said, frowning and sitting up.**

**He didn't try to stop me, and the instant I was vertical a sharp pang stabbed through my skull. I have a weakness, just over my brow, where that concussion the Hyuuga boy gave me. One of the previous night's blow's had apparently found it. “Last night---”**

**Zetsu gave a faint, derisive snort, and rose to his feet. He struck me as a generally patient man, but right now he seemed on edge. In a hurry to be somewhere. And I was slowing him down.**

**“You've been unconscious for two days. The others have left. Gone to our current stronghold.”.......my back teeth clenched against the ache in my head, and I pushed myself to my feet.**

**Aside from the ache in my head, everything else worked. My limbs didn't even feel weary. And the vague wavering at the edges of my vision following the killing of my clan was gone. I was standing here in the sunlight, in a world bright with color, as if nothing that had transpired before had really happened. It was like waking from a bad dream. The killing had been the storm; this was the red dawn after.**

**My memories were shot with lightning. I reached up and pulled the hitae ate from my head, shook the lightning from my hair.**

**Zetsu was looking at me.**

**Then I remembered that Pein and the others wore their villages' forehead protectors with a slash through the insignia.**

**I drew out a kunai. But realized Zetsu's stare was disapproving.**

**“I wouldn't bother,” .....he admonished. “You haven't proven yourself yet, and you haven't severed ties with Konoha in the way Pein hoped you would.”**

**The blood froze in my veins. It had never occurred to me that they would find out, or that they wouldcare if they found out.**

**It was the greatest blunder I ever made. It haunts me to this day.**

**I drew in a calming breath. I was steel, wasn't I? I could prove myself. “What must I do?”**

**If his face weren't so expressionless, I'd swear Zetsu wore the ghost of a smile. “You will go with two of our members to the Stone Country. To find the rokubi.”**

**He nodded slightly to one side, a gesture I realized was his equivalent of a shrug. “`What does that mean,' your face asks me. I am but the messenger. They will take you from here. You are theirs.”......and I saw behind him, coming toward us, two Akatsuki.**

**One was a woman, short, with black kohl-lined eyes and short brown hair that stuck out in uneven spikes. Her gaze on me was wary and wide. She must have been in her twenties, but looked younger. Before I could react to the news of the task before me, her companion introduced her.**

**“Reina,” .....he said, with a thin smile.**

**His eyes on me were cold.**

**“I am to go with you,”..... I said evenly.**

**They were sending me on a mission to capture a six-tailed demon with a mouse of a woman and Orochimaru.**

**Zetsu was already leaving." Already."...... Tobi shambled after him.**

**This was indeed a test. They were abandoning me, to Orochimaru. If I didn't survive, if I succumbed, I was not worthy of them.**

**“Zetsu is a spy,” ....Orochimaru informed me as I watched the messenger's receding back. “He entered Konoha during the confusion to see that you'd done what you set out to do.”**

**Then he added, in a lower tone, meant only for me, “Couldn't bear to kill your precious brother?”**

**Standing slightly apart from us, Souen watched this exchange without comment. Orochimaru spoke as if she weren't there. There was definitely something odd about her. Mental slowness, or deafness? No . . .or they wouldn't call her one of their own.**

**The fact remained, though. Whatever she was, I was under her watch, and Orochimaru's.**

**“Take this.” ......the serpent held out a folded black cloak.**

**I took it without hesitation. I must never hesitate again. They were waiting for me to hesitate. They saw me sparing Sasuke as hesitation.**

**“But I am not one of you,”...... I said, fixing him with an even stare. “Why should I dress as one of you?”**

**He flicked a strand of greasy black hair from the corner of his sneer. “Don't be stupid, Uchiha Itachi. This is another loyalty game. This is Konoha, all over again, only with a different mark being branded into your flesh.”......he phrased the word as if tasting it. “You're their equal. So they fear you, and test you.” ......again that hungry gleam. “Your answers don't lie here.”**

**He did not want me to join. There was my answer.**

**He was afraid.**

**I smiled thinly. Swung the cloak about my shoulders. Black unfurled around me, like wings. “We shall see. Let us go.”**

**The Earth Country is a dry and unforgiving place. Even for a _shinobi,_ the journey through such lands is trying, especially after the comparative ease with which we traveled northward through the Grass Country. There is nothing but wind and rock, as far as the eye can see, and a few scraggly desert plants with roots that must have been sharp as swords to pierce the soil there. The wind is hot and drains the water from your breath in the daytime, and at night it is cold and wails like a dying woman. There are settlements there, of course, or they wouldn't call it a country. But these are in the canyons, formed where the land has been cracked and bowed by earthquakes and then hardened into sunken fortresses against the wind.**

**I was grateful for the black cloak with the red clouds, and pulled the straw hat down low in front of my face to keep my eyes from tearing. Orochimaru must have been suffering the same discomfort; he wore a perpetual grimace and was unusually quiet. As for Souen, our silent companion, she seemed immune to the cold. Her expression never appeared to change, in fact. It was like someone had carved her from the stony lands we walked across. Only her eyes were liquid and alive, like a deer that has seen you in the woods and frozen in place as its last defense. They had sent me on a mission with Orochimaru to test me; what sort of test Souen was I couldn't fathom.**

**At night we slept in the shelter of outcroppings or in dugouts we'd made ourselves, never in the towns.**

**At night I saw strange dreams.**

**In my dreams I did not see the Uchiha I'd slaughtered, nor Shisui, whom I'd loved, nor Sasuke. Instead I saw the idiot, Tobi. We were in the woods, alone. Night had fallen, but the air was filled with a pregnant stillness. Something was about to change, forever. I could feel it.**

**Tobi laughed. “Where are you going, Uchiha Itachi?”**

**I was still wearing the clothes I had worn when I killed my clan. There was no blood on them yet; I was going to Konoha to bathe myself in blood. But when I tried to answer him, my throat stuck. My words would not even come out in a whisper. I stood stock-still, frozen.**

**“You think you know because Pein told you, don't you?”.... Tobi turned a somersault, landing on a lower branch of the tree he was in.**

**His movements made him seem like a monkey, laughable and clever all at once. “He thought you cutting ties with the Uchiha was the answer. He thought it would bind you to Akatsuki forever! Ha!”....he sank into a crouch, regarding me with a sudden sharpness that unnerved me. “Our bloodlines are not perfected like his. We are flawed, a shattered mirror image of what we should be. But there is a way for us to be more than what we are. And that is why Konoha feared us. And why you must now throw yourself into hell to save the only truth left.”**

**I was impatient. Everyone promised ways to achieve new heights, new kinds of truth, all for the cost of my freedom. I didn't want to listen. But I was locked in place, and couldn't speak.**

**“You'll remember soon,”.... Tobi chortled, backsliding into idiocy. “Why you disobeyed your true masters. What your true purpose is. You'll remember, you'll remember! Ha! When the darkness comes for you.”**

**He held our his hands to me, fingers uncurling like grotesque flowers to reveal what he held. Bloodied eyes, torn from their sockets and dangling pink nerves, rolled softly on his palms.**

**I awoke screaming, my voice finally freed.**

**Wind howled around our encampment, mad and stinging. Orochimaru leaned against an outcropping nearby, long arms folded across his chest, wearing a slight sneer.**

**“Nightmares, Itachi-kun? Regret killing them?”.....my tongue was dry and coated with the dull metallic taste of dust.**

**I rose to my knees and spat, washing away the grit. Then I turned away from him, wiping my mouth with the corner of one sleeve, and lay down again, pulling the brim of my hat low over my face. I didn't answer him. But I didn't sleep, either. This was the fourth night I'd had nightmares this bad. And I felt certain I had met Tobi before not the simpleton who tagged along after Zetsu, but the shrewd man who seemed to know a secret I didn't. Or a secret I knew but had yet to remember.** **We passed through towns with more tumbleweeds than people, following rumors of the Rokubi. The beast had surfaced in its own monstrous form one week prior, but thepeople of that town had only seen it in the distance, and one night it had disappeared in the middle of a lightning storm. What this meant to us was that the Rokubi's previous host its Jinchuuriki had lost control of it and someone had been forced to reseal it. And this meant that we should not be hunting a lone person but the very Stone Village itself.**

  **The Leaf have never had good relations with the Stone. We fought them in the Third Great Ninja War. Their lands were unforgiving and their economy low, so naturally they couldn't forgive Konoha for its prosperity. They tried to take Konohagakure, though, not the Fire Country. It would have been easier, had they overthrown its government and entangled themselves with the civilian populace. It would have complicated things when the Leaf tried to drive them out, because the Leaf protect civilians and would hesitate to sacrifice any. But they went straight for the more powerful enemy.**

**The result was devastation. I saw glimpses of it when I was four years old. And I saw it end with the rampage and capture of the Kyuubi. Violence is the most powerful teacher; the world is changed by it. It is the one true path to peace.**

**In the small town of Akaga we spent the night in an old, rickety inn atop a tavern. The walls were thin, and the wooden floors smelled like they'd rot through if the air weren't so dry.**

**Evening found us seated at a table in a darkened corner of the tavern with our wide-brimmed hats pulled low, sipping at sake but not really tasting it. By this time we had come to realize we were nearing our journey's end, for we had finally detected the presence of Stone Village shinobi, following us like shadows. How stupid they were in their wariness we didn't even have to expend the effort of finding them. Orochimaru had a reputation among the shinobi of this country dating back to the Third War, when he was expelled from Konoha for experimenting with forbidden jutsu on Leaf ninja and Stone prisoners of war alike. Doubtless he's been counting on his reputation to get Iwagakure's attention, I thought.**

**“Arrogance befitting a man who wants to be immortal.”.....I froze, the sake bowl halfway to my lips, frowning.**

**Someone had spoken the last sentence aloud to me. I was sure of it. But when I looked at my two companions, Orochimaru gazed past me, watching the tavern's entrance, and Reina merely stared blankly into her bowl. The voice had been a man's, rough and deep.**

**Orochimaru turned back toward me, smiling slightly. “It'll be tonight. They'll move tonight. You know your part.”....“You know your part. Play it well.”**

**I lowered my head, not wanting him to see my confusion. Twice I had heard the voice of someone who wasn't there. I was beginning to wonder if the regret I'd thought I didn't have was merely walled up behind a dam of . . . something, and now that days had passed between killing my clan and beginning my new life with Akatsuki there were hairline cracks forming in the wall.**

**I took first watch that night. In the unsettling darkness of the room we shared, instead of listening for the soft approach of Stone enemies, I heard whispers that neither of my companions could. They came from far corners of the room, even though no one was there. I had not slept well since we'd left the Fire Country, and my first reaction was paranoia. Hypnosis. The Stone are throwing their voices as part of some genjutsu. Or . . . I glanced round at Orochimaru, who appeared to be asleep on the opposite end of the room. He always seemed to sleep well; he had no conscience. When Reina slept, she seemed dead.**

**I shook my head, straightened my back and closed my eyes. I took a few deep breaths, sitting cross legged and gathering some meditative chakra to center myself.**

**“You don't have to do this! Itachi!”**

**“For the good of the Leaf . . .”**

**“Where will you go after . . . ?”**

**“If I am to be their tool, let it be on my own terms. Among the strong . . .”**

**With a grunt of disgust, I rose to my feet. The more I focused on being clear-headed, the clearer the voices became. Conversations with myself that had never happened, that made no sense.**

**“I'll relieve you.”.... Orochimaru was sitting up, watching me keenly.**

**Either he was a light sleeper or he was extremely wary of my behavior on this journey. “You'll be useless if you don't sleep.”**

**I wasn't in a position to argue. My judgment was being clouded, I sensed. By what, I had no idea. But self-induced insomnia would only make my paranoia worse. I crawled into a corner and leaned my head against the wall, pulling my cloak up to my chin. Though I wasn't comfortable with Orochimaru watching over me while I slept, my head bowed and exhaustion took me.**

**“ _Come back to me, have you?”...._ _I stood in the glade as before, and Tobi was there._**

**“ _This time, you've come of your own accord,” ....he said, peering down at me with his head cocked, curious. “You're beginning to WANT to remember.”_**

**_I touched one hand to the hitae ate at my brow, an unconscious gesture of uncertainty. Was I here to remember? Was this dream some kind of slow answer to a question I couldn't ask?_ **

**_“What is it I've forgotten?” ....I asked him. “You know, don't you?”_ **

**_He giggled, swung a complete revolution round the tree limb he clung to, like an acrobat performing. My confusion seemed to excite him._ **

**_“Yes! Yes!” he laughed. “You must remember this place! This is where I took your memories after we did it!”_ **

**_Leaves scattered from his perch, falling over me in a flurry of green._ **

**“ _Did what?” .....I demanded, brushing them away from my face. “What memories? This is the place where Pein told me to kill the Uchiha before I joined Akatsuki. I've never met you here.”_**

  ** _Tobi executed a flip, landing in a crouch right in front of me. He rose to his feet slowly, and for the first time I became aware that he was taller . . . And that he was an Uchiha._**

**_From the depths of the spiral mask he wore, I felt the glare of the Mangekyou Sharingan. I tried to break away, but I was not strong enough. Vines blossomed upward from the ground beneath me, clamped round my body, curved to cradle my head. I froze; black thorns barbed the thinner vines across my cheeks, pointed toward my eyes, cupped my throat so that the tips scratched the skin just over the arteries._ **

**" _Look at me, Uchiha Itachi,” ....he said._**

**_His voice was deeper, older, sane. “I took your memories from you before we killed your clan. Because you asked me to, that you might keep your sanity.”_ **

**_What sanity? I wanted to scream. Do you call this sane? .....we' killed my clan?  We'?.......b_ _ut thorns had slid between my lips; a gentle warning._ **

**“ _I gave you back your memories,” ....he said, “Because you need to hate where you've come from or you will never leave it behind.”_**

**_I don't hate them, I thought, fighting to breathe around the thundering of my heart. They were nothing to me at all. The only one who mattered was . . ._ **

**“ _I have given them back to you,”..... he said, “Because you are dying. And because you ought to remember the face of your killer.”.....h_ _is hand passed before my face, like a cloud across the sun, and when its shadow was gone the vines had melted away and I could move again._**

**_He was gone, and I stood in the glade alone, a snow of leaves at my feet._ _Then a twig snapped behind me, a deliberate noise._ _I spun quickly. Pein stood behind me. He wore his hat with the brim pulled low, as he had on the day I killed my clan._**

**“ _You?” I....... murmured. “Is he trying to tell me you are going to kill me?”_**

**_Pein did not answer. He stood still and tall as a statue, face grave as stone. A breeze rustled through the glade, rasping leaves like dry bones scraping._ **

**_And the wind whispered, in Tobi's voice, “It was not here. When you chose to kill everything you loved, you did not choose proudly, standing here in the forest with your head raised. No . . . You chose to kill them on your knees.”_ **

**_The world melted into night, and then I_ was _kneeling, head bowed, in a dark room that was all too familiar. I was on my knees, kneeling as shinobi do so that we feel smaller than the lords who play their power-games with our lives. There were some lords in the room with me, but they stood in shadows, in the furthest corners, away from me, watching with misgivings. At the forefront, looming over me, were the elders of Konoha. The Sandaime, his brother, his sister-in-law, and Danzou, the leader of Root. Others. Old men and women, pitiless and soft, who had not seen battle in decades, and were all the more disgusting for asking me to do what they wanted while their eyes were lined with sorrow._**

**“ _You will have to leave, afterward,” .....they told me. “We will buy you time.”_**

**_I would have to leave, afterward, so that I could become their mistake, their byword, their village sacrifice. It was not enough that I gave them my blood and my service. They wanted my soul._ **

**_My hand, already a fist pressed to the floor where I knelt, clenched until the knuckles whitened._ **

**_I bowed my head and said “Yes.” ......my voice was so quiet, my demeanor so calm but I screamed inside._ **

_**The pain in that silent cry shattered my sanity and very nearly my will. From the moment I bowed my head to their orders of death, that scream became a river coursing through my blood, which I could only bury but never silence .** _

**I woke screaming. Something hit me, hard.**

**“Shut him up,”.... Orochimaru snapped.**

**I blinked, fighting back stars and tears of pain. My head had struck the floor, hard enough to bleed. There was pressure, terrible pressure, on my back, suffocating me, and I thrashed in blind panic. Someone's hand clamped across my mouth, thin and cold, and I rolled over to see Reina pale face looming above me, her spiked hair like a brown halo. Her face, as always, was blank, but her eyes were luminous.**

**“Hush, the Stone are here,” .....she warned softly.**

**I gagged, and she loosened her hold on my mouth, in time for me to vomit on the floor.**

**“See to him,”..... Orochimaru ordered. “We're leaving.”**

**There were muted thudding noises in the halls, the soft footfalls of killers. Noise and images clashed in my head, thunder split my skull; I fell again, on a dry part of the floor. There came a crash and the sound of wood splintering; the enemy had broken through the door. Reina shook me. But I could only lie there, my cheek on the floor, breathing dusty wood and seeing places and people I had left behind. There was blood in my mouth, and the metallic taste of dust, and a bitterness that burned my tongue and belly. That floor, in that godforsaken little room at the inn, was my one anchor to sanity as the rest of the unraveling world reeled around me in a dark rush.**

**Reina lifted me, after a while. She was inhumanly strong for someone so small and frail looking. There was a clash of blades in the hall; Orochimaru swore at me.**

**My memory grows dim, there or, rather, the memories that Uchiha Madara had awakened again grew so much brighter.**

**When at last I came to myself, was lying in cool darkness, against cold stone. Someone had laid a rough cloth over me, and the muscles in my limbs, my back, trembled.**

**I was scarcely in possession of my senses, but I could see, in the wan light of a candle mounted on the wall nearby, that we were in a prison. Reina sat near me, knees drawn up to her pointed chin, watching me with something oddly like pity. Orochimaru sat near the bars of our cell, watching me with obvious distaste. He appeared dirty but otherwise unharmed. His face and lanky hair shone with sweat, and he sat huddled with his arms crossed, like a petulant child.**

**“Useless,”.... he snarled. “They send me with a team and I end up doing everything myself.”**

**My mind was operating on two levels at once. I heard everything in the present, but it was as if I were separated from all of it by a screen of smoked glass, collapsed into myself like a snail into its shell. Even as he spoke to me, my memories spoke as well. At the time I wasn't even sure they were memories; they might well have been hallucinations created by Tobi, whoever he was, to control me. Or they might have been my own sanity finally collapsing under the crushing weight of guilt.**

**I struggled to focus more on the present, dimly aware that I might die if I didn't. I recalled what Zetsu had said, about them testing me. Given Pein's displeasure with Orochimaru for attacking me, it was probably a safe assumption that he was being tested, as well. If I could not come to my senses, I would fail the test.**

**We are . . . captives of the Stone?”..... I rasped.**

**My tongue was dry, but my mouth tasted like blood. Doubtless I'd cut something when he hit me at the inn.**

**Either it was the concussion or I was going mad, but in my head I heard the echoing voices of the Leaf elders, telling me to kill Shisui. “You must do this, or Konohagakure will perish. We are all prisoners of fate, Itachi . . .”**

**“We are,” .....Orochimaru agreed. “But not because Akatsuki has sent us here. It's because of you.”**

**Confused, I thought at first he could hear my thoughts. Then I realized he referred to the Stone, and to our current lack of freedom. I attempted to push myself upright. Failed. My backside had gone numb from the cold, rough flagstones beneath us. Everything had gone numb.**

**“Me?”...... I managed.**

**My tongue felt thick and dry. “How could they know me?”......in my head, my dead father said, “I scarcely know you any more . . .”**

**Orochimaru sneered. “Your hitae ate. Why wear it if you're not going to slash it as an Akatsuki member? If you'd really wanted a souvenir from the Leaf, why not just take some Uchiha finger-bones?”**

**Pain flared in my skull, and a wave of nausea swept through me. I gritted my teeth. Whatever was happening, my sanity was being shaken to its foundations. I thought of Tobi, holding eyeballs in his palms. Of the way I'd bowed, so humbly, when Konoha's elders had ordered me to murder my clan. If it was real, and the dreams were true . .**

**If they were, and there had been no sense of pride or accomplishment when I had finally broken free of Konoha . . . then the massacre I had committed had not been my choice.**

**The emptiness left by my vanquished pride brimmed with pain. Confused, I swayed toward belief. Had I really been a victim of the elders' cruel orders? Had I become a will-less tool for killing? Why was I even alive? If the dreams were true, nothing I had ever done, from the moment I was branded that genius, had ever been my choice. Nothing that had mattered, anyway. The “testing of my limits,” my hatred for my clan, was all an illusion, given to me by the Uchiha who called himself Tobi, to pacify me, a drug to anesthetize my soul until the deed was done and I was free.**

_**But is this freedom? Is it?** _

**If the dreams were true . . . If they weren't dreams, but memories . . . They had used me, their genius, their shining star, to spy on ANBU while they plotted in the shadows. Konoha had used me, their conveniently troubled genius, because they knew my mental state had never been truly stable and insanity was the cleanest way they could explain to the rest of the village what I'd done. But why? What could they gain?**

**Was it real? What was real? Oh gods, let something be real . . .**

**“They know you're one of the Leaf,”..... Orochimaru hissed. “Though not that you're an Uchiha. So keep your temper, if not your wits, about you.”**

_**Because I have a use for you.** _

**He didn't say it, outright. But he didn't need to. I knew that look. He spoke to me like I was an investment about to slip through his fingers. I was beginning to understand that he wanted more than just my Sharingan eyes.**

**“Someone's coming,”..... Reina murmured, turning wide-eyed toward the hall.**

**And someone was.**

**The Stone shinobi saved me.**

**Well, perhaps saved isn't the right word. Extended my life.**

**My face stung from the slap. They used crude torture, trying to intimidate me.**

**My tormentor's hand dropped to his side. His eyes, narrowed to slits, regarded me with the air of a man pretending he is morally comfortable with cruelty when he is, in fact, only well-practiced in it.**

**“What is your name? What rank do you hold in Konoha? Why have they sent you to spy?”.....the questions rained down on me like iron pellets.**

**My head throbbed. They pained me in a way that their fists could not. Somehow I had completely lost my sense of adrenaline, so that I didn't care what happened to my body. But my mind, treacherous machine that it was, went on working, showing me memories that might or might not be mine.**

**“Itachi,”..... I mumbled though swollen lips. “Exile from Konoha. Fled to the Earth Country.”**

**“NO,”.... he snarled, his voice a whip-crack and it began again.**

**Strike flat of palm to face, alternated with fists to ensure that one form of brutality did not become too easy to bear. Hours on end, or maybe only minutes, even through the pain I could not feel the passage of time. The beatings only made it worse.**

**But time must have passed, for I gradually became aware of something. My mind, ever restless, sought new avenues since my dulled senses had practically shut my body down. I started trying to suppress the flow of so-called memories, to let myself think clearly as I had before the final dream at the inn. I entered a sort of meditative state, and stopped answering the Stone interrogator's questions altogether.**

**There's no point answering, there's no point, I reminded myself, every so often when the pain threatened to break through my self-induced trance. Even if you give him the truth, he won't . . .**

**Another blow, blood trickling from the corner of my eye, trailing past my ear.**

**Even if you tell him the truth . . .. . . he won't listen, for it is not the truth he wants. Somehow, during that indeterminable time, my head became clearer.**

**Am I so different? Even if it isn't the truth, my dreams are trying to tell me something. Someone or something is trying to reach out to me, to wake me, to warn me. But what I see when I dream, waking or sleeping, is not what I want to see. So I shut my eyes. I shut them.**

**My eyes opened, rimed with blood and sleep.**

**“I am Itachi,”..... I answered. “I am a murderer. And Konoha is no longer my home.”**

**He sucked in a breath, to deny it and strike me again. Shinobi life is made up of rooms such as this; rooms with doors and no windows, floorboards that creak and walls that smell of dust and fear. But I had been in a thousand rooms like this before. Mute, on my knees, letting duty bow my head.**

**I was sick of letting myself be silenced.**

**I grinned, a feral baring of my teeth. I must have looked crazed.**

**“I've killed the Uchiha. You'll find my name in every bingo book in every country soon enough. The cowardly old men who rule the Leaf ordered me to do it, then cast me out. You think I'm their spy? Fools!” ....I spat.**

**My tormentor drew back. My saliva made a small red blot on the floor.“You . . . have . . .” ....he seemed at a loss and truth seems to have that effect.**

**“I did it willingly!”.... I snarled. “I'm their sacrificial demon. Demons care nothing for the lives of anyone, not even their own. So what would you have me say, then? What would you have me say?”**

**He struck me in the head, then, afraid I would go berserk despite my weakened state. I sat there, bound upright and dazed, my head spinning like a planet within the frame of my skull.**

**There he made his fatal mistake. He looked me directly in the eyes. The Stone are weak. What Village trains its shinobi to look into the eyes of someone who claims to have killed an entire clan famous for its dojutsu?**

**I didn't go berserk as he'd feared, but I did not sit silent with my head bowed, either. With the Mangekyou Sharingan wheeling red in my eyes, I compelled him to cut me free. I then extracted from him what I wanted to know, and left.**

**It took a great deal of strength to work the pulley system in the dungeon, to lift the prison door. But my two comrades were watching, so I carefully kept the strain from making its way onto my face. I must have looked terrible enough; I had washed the blood off my face but it was still swollen and bruised.**

**The door hung over them like metal teeth as they pushed themselves to their feet.**

**“They send me with a team,” .....I said, “but I have to do the work.”**

**Orochimaru managed a half-smile that was both calculating and irritated.**

**Reina expression was blank as ever, but her eyes glistened as she left the prison to join me. “What did you do?” .....she asked.**

  **There was a smudge of dirt across the bridge of her nose, and her face was pale and drawn, as if she hadn't eaten in days, but there was an air of feverish anticipation about her. Something like hope.**

**I ducked into the prison cell, retrieved my cloak and fastened it around my shoulders. The straw hat was gone, which didn't bode well for walking across the plains under the sun of this harsh, unforgiving land . . . not that it mattered. I was going to survive. I had decided this, while the Stone beat me in that timeless room. With every blow, I'd felt my last illusions slip away.**

**The illusions I refer to were not the dreams, which might be memories. They were the illusions I had about what awaited me in Akatsuki, beyond Konoha's gates. Whatever the reason for my fleeing the Leaf to join this organization, be it ruthless ambition or some sort of noble self-sacrifice, I was not going to find any sanctuary here. Already I could see that Akatsuki had its own divided loyalties. It was imperfect, and regardless of my motives I was going to find no peace among them.**

**I was going to have to look to myself for answers, because looking for answers in everything and everyone around me was leaving me raw and empty.**

**. . . and I would begin by surviving this to find Tobi again. To ask him what he had done to me, why I was swaying toward belief that the Leaf had betrayed its own using me, why I felt grief and remorse and love and hatred washing over me in waves now, when how it felt to kill my clan should have been something dead and gone.**

**And what he meant by my “murderers.”**

**I turned to Reina. “I've used our captivity to my advantage. I will lead you to the **Six-Tails**.” .....for the benefit of Orochimaru, who stood behind me, I added, “I will lead you.”**

**The choice to set aside the confusion plaguing me and carry out the mission was the turning point in my fate. I was to face a rocky, brutal slide into the truth, until at last I could face it, bruised and battered but clear of mind. But first Orochimaru turned on me. And the final piece of truth in the puzzle came not from Tobi, but from the man the Leaf called the “Frog Hermit.”**

 


	56. JIRAIYA AND ITACHI

**What I had learned from the Stone interrogator was that the **Six-Tails** previous host had died. More specifically, she was killed. She rebelled against her clan. Gone power-drunk and crazed, she attacked her own Village. She willingly broke the seal that bound the six tails inside her, willingly commit massacre. And they put her down like an animal. It was a public execution, and they tortured her before they took the six tails out of her  **Six-Tails**  and transferred it to a new host. I'm sure there were children watching. That is the shinobi way.**

**The new host was an old man. They called him the Serpent Sage. He lived in a hermitage in the mountains to the west of Iwagure, completely alone. This wasn't because the Stone hated him. They tried to send servants to him to care for him, but he sent every single one away. I wondered if he hated the Village for making him the new host. Shinobi like to ruthlessly sacrifice their own, then glorify the ruined ones as martyrs, so no doubt he was bitter and wanted to be left alone to his fate.**

**Like me, I suppose. Except I had ruined ones of my own. My martyrs, who followed me like ghosts.**

**I kept to the narrow, winding trail we were taking into the mountains, and did not look back at the ghosts that dogged my heels.**

**Orochimaru and Reina were more sure-footed than I, having been starved but not beaten during our imprisonment. They scouted ahead of me where the trail forked in two directions.**

**Reina returned first, when the shadows were grey and long and the sun a fiery blaze rimming the peaks. The wind was freezing, and she had to have been chilled to the bone but gave no sign of it. I'd noticed by now that no matter what the weather her skin stayed that same, porcelain pale. My nose and cheeks were chapped and red, but she was colorless as a corpse.**

**“There's a valley to the south,”.... she told me, barely audible as the wind wailed through the canyons. “He saw me. He knows we're here.”**

**No surprise. Shinobi aren't called “Sage” without reason I nodded.**

**“What is his reaction?”.....obviously he hadn't chased her or we'd be dodging cobra venom, or whatever a “Serpent Sage” threw at interlopers.**

**She looked puzzled—or as puzzled as Reina could look, which meant her brown eyes widened.“He called to me. Motioned for me to come, and pointed toward his home.”**

**“He thinks you're alone,”..... I said. “We'll take him by surprise.”**

**Orochimaru came sauntering down the trail from the other direction. He never did like to run; he must've thought it showed he wasn't in control of the situation. Smirking for no real reason, he joined us and we formed a plan for Souen to lure the old man out again while the two of us come at him from either side from behind, cutting him off from the hermitage walls. If you're going to capture someone, avoid letting them choose the battle ground.**

**We split up and took our positions—Orochimaru and I on either side of the valley, and Reina out in the open on the trail. The hermitage wasn't truly in the valley, but on a plateau surrounded on all sides by deep canyon. Unlike the barren, rocky country east of the mountains, the plateau was ribbed with rice paddies, an emerald in the rough. There was a distinctly green smell rising from it, which reminded me of home. Of Konoha.**

**I shook my head. My ghosts dispersed.**

**Reina was making her way toward the edge of the trail, and across the canyon the old man was coming out to meet her. He was hunchbacked, and frail-looking. His head was shaved like a monk's, and he wore dark red robes like a monk's. He carried a staff made of wood as twisted as his body.**

**And the valley was filled with his chakra, like a cauldron about to overflow.**

**He stopped at the edge of the plateau, and did not call out to Reina, but turned to face me. He saw me; I'm sure of it. Which was impossible, because I also learned from the Stone that he was blind.**

**Then he turned and looked directly at Orochimaru in his eye. Or, at least, I assume he did, because Orochimaru emerged from the shadows of the cliff and stood staring down at him. The Sannin knew he'd been spotted, and saw no point in hiding. I followed suit.**

**Once we had stepped into view, the old man turned back to she, and I became privy to a magnificent sight. From the depths of the deep canyon that wound round the hermitage, there rose the head of a behemoth serpent, colored purple to match the twilight shadows. Enormous black eyes transfixed Reina as the triangular head stretched across the divide and came to rest on the trail at her feet. After a moment's hesitation, she climbed onto the head, and was carried to the other side and set down before the Serpent Sage.**

**The old man lifted his head, and shouted. His voice filled the valley. It was rough, terrible, like thunder. Small stones trembled at my feet. I realized then that he was a true Sage of the earth, and that his chakra had merged with the valley so that every grain of sand echoed his voice.**

**_“Shinobi, you who come to take the beast inside me, who come to kill me. WELCOME. I am ready to embrace the peace the peace of death and I will do so withaut a fight, for where is the peace in that? I ask onlx that you come down to me, and spend one night here for before I go, I long to hear human voices, that I might not pass alone."_ **

**Any shinobi worth his salt would have disbelieved that in a heartbeat. But we did not. Not a one of us. Had he wanted to, he could have killed us before we even knew he was aware of our presence. Instead he asked for death. The mighty serpent's head swung toward its master, and in the narrowing of its dark eyes I read alarm and disapproval, even grief. Even Orochimaru, who trusts no one, began descending the slope opposite me. The snake held its master's gaze for a moment, then swung toward me. I climbed onto it, and as I did so the black eyes rolled upward to glare at me. But it obeyed its master, and soon both Orochimaru and I stood on the plateau, unscathed.**

**“Welcome,” .....the Sage repeated, at normal volume, his voice was feeble when not magnified. “You must be tired, and hungry. I will give you shelter for the night.”**

**“And in the morning we leave for the Water Country,”.... I said firmly. “We will not be dissuaded by anything that is given to us, or said tonight.”.... I was warning him not to expect compassion.**

**Orochimaru had none, and I was too afraid of my own. And Reina…who knew what she was thinking, with her blank face and hopeless eyes. The old man nodded assent, but there was something in his silence that felt like he was assessing me. Singling me out. For what, I couldn't guess.**

**He led us into the quiet halls of his home, carved with raw chakra from the plateau stones and clean as any temple attended by fifty monks. I could see faint impressions of broom-strokes in what little dust there was; he must have swept his halls every day. There were no lanterns in the place, but when at last we entered his main room there was a large square fireplace built into the floor, over which there hung several copper kettles suspended by chain pulleys. They were steaming, and I smelled miso, green tea and cabbage all at once.**

**The room was bare but well-carpeted with tatami mats and warm. The old man seemed to know his way around without trouble; he motioned for us to take our fill with the clay bowls on the hearth-stones, while he pulled down the tea kettle and whisked in more leaves with his small wire brush.**

**Orochimaru ate with zeal. Souen merely pushed her food around. I ate slowly, watching the old man.**

**“In exchange for the meal, please tell me your stories,”..... he told us. “First you, the snake charmer.”**

**Orochimaru almost spit out a mouthful of cabbage. Then he recovered himself and swallowed, eyes gleaming. “Snake charmer. I like that. And I respect your abilities, so I'll tell you my story. But I warn you it has no end, for I intend to live forever.”**

**“Why?”....... the Sage tilted his head inquisitively, owlish.“To learn all that there is to learn.We know everything the instant we're born. Then we spend a lifetime growing more foolish while further convincing ourselves we're wise. What you're after can't really be called knowledge.”**

**Orochimaru smirked. “Power, then.”**

**The Sage grunted. “How dull. But you may yet do something worthwhile with your power, so when I pass I will let you inherit contract.”.....he must truly have been blind; Orochimaru was never going to amount to anything.**

**The Sannin, who had probably been about to launch into a grandiose tale of his grotesque experiments and dreams of conquest, shut his mouth for once.**

**“And you, young woman.”......Reina flinched, and her spoon clattered into her bowl. “Nothing grand. And like Orochimaru's there is no end. There will never be an end.”....the note of anguish in her tone surprised me.**

  **“Nothing lasts forever,” .....the old man told her gently. “I, too, had feared no end. But now you are here.”**

**There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. The fire popped and spit sparks.**

**“Once upon a time, there was a princess,” .....Reina said, “and a shinobi, who loved her.”**

**Orochimaru rolled his eyes." I didn't."**

**“She was very proud. So proud, she treated her ninja guardian like a pet. But her guardian was faithful, and loved her anyway. The princess was kept sequestered in the women's quarters because her father was a strict and hard man. She was bored. She was supposed to learn the womanly arts of flower arranging and calligraphy and poetry and the tea ceremony. She begged her guardian to teach her to use kunai and katana and poisons and antidotes. She became a shinobi herself, in her own right. And in exchange, she became the shinobi's lover.” ......Reina eyes shimmered with tears, like a hundred-year-old glass window weeping down itself  but if she had real tears to cry, she held them back.**

**“But a princess and a shinobi are not equal. Shinobi cannot be allowed to see themselves as equal to those they serve, or it becomes impossible to sacrifice their lives for those they protect. And the princess was too proud to believe herself equal to her lover. So it was a wretched, one-sided love. Her father found out about the secret affair one day when the princess was sixteen, and he was keen to marry her off to a prince of the Lightning Country. He beat her, and threw her guardian in prison. The next morning, both were gone, and the king was found dead. Poisoned.**

**The princess had done it. Then she demanded her guardian take her into exile, to hide. But when the queen hired an army of ninja to hunt them down, it was the shinobi who was punished. Though strong, while protecting the princess her guardian could not win. This display of true devotion was rewarded with torture, and being left for dead in the wilderness. The princess never found out where. But she was married to the Lightning prince. And the shinobi,whose body was battered and broken beyond repair, was taken in by Akatsuki.”.......Reina eyes were the most alive I had ever seen them. I understood, now, her hopelessness and that she was, like me, walking the tortured path between vengeance and love.**

**Only I could not yet tell who the true monsters were in my tale—myself, or the ones who ordered me to commit murder.**

**“Pein healed you?”...... Orochimaru peered at Reina shrewdly. “I'd thought none of us were medic-nin. I am the closest to the type.”**

**“Yes,” ......she replied.**

**Her eyes were blank again. Carefully so, I thought.**

**Orochimaru seemed keen on pressing the matter, but the Sage interrupted him. “There is one thing, young woman, that gives meaning to life, and that is love.”**

**“If I had died in the wilderness, I would have died still loving her,” ......Reina said numbly. “But I lived. And learned that she became a great lady of the Kaminari, and truly loved her king, and bore him children. There is no justice in this world; only suffering. The best we can hope for is to rise to the pinnacle of power, to escape being trod upon.”**

**“Straight from Pein's mouth, isn't that?” .......Orochimaru looked thoughtful, rubbing his pointed chin with spidery fingers. “Not to say I don't agree, of course. But if you're going to believe something you should at least use your own words to say so.”**

**“Perhaps,” .......the Sage said slowly, “your long life is no curse, but a chance. To find meaning again.”**

**Reina blinked. And went back to pushing her food round her bowl.**

**“And you.”......the old man didn't turn toward me, but his tone deepened, and a frown creased his brow.**

**How strange, to think that IIunnerved him more than Orochimaru's god complex. “What shadows are those that follow you?”**

**It was my turn to flinch. “What shadows do you see?”**

**The old man scowled, waving his hand as if to swat away something irritating. “I'm blind, fool. And I don't claim to see spirits or tell futures. I merely assume you're one haunted by things you've seen or done, because you're the brooding one. You don't seem quick to brag about those you've slain, nor proud of whatever has driven you to this place and time. So you must have shadows. Regrets. Nightmares.”**

**He was right. And I couldn't hate him for it, because he saw me clearly for all his blindness. And because the hatred I had once felt for everyone and everything around me was slipping through my fingers, day by day, like grains of sand.**

**“You're quite mistaken,” ....I told him calmly. “I killed my clan to reach the height of my potential.”**

**“And did you?” ......he seemed genuinely interested.**

**I wanted very much, for some reason, to tell him the truth right then. But doing so would make me appear weak in front of Orochimaru, whom I sensed was awaiting the chance to kill me. Or worse.**

**“I, too, still quest for learning everything there is to learn,”..... I answered.**

**He nodded, but he seemed disappointed.**

**That night, he took Orochimaru outside and transferred the great serpent contract.**

**That night, when the moon had set and the stars burned clear in the vast sky, the old man woke me and bid me walk with him.**

**“You lied, before,” ......he said.**

**We wandered the edge of the plateau, on the stone rims of the rice paddies. The stars lit our way.**

 " **Yes. I don't trust my companions.”**

**“The snake charmer.” .....he smiled.**

**His smile was cracked and creviced as the cliffs around us. “Trust that he will betray you. There are many like him, each one nothing new. But I gave him Raiga to make him strong. Long after I'm gone, when he betrays you, he will become a force to stand against this Akatsuki.”**

**I smiled, in spite of myself. The expression felt sane and unfamiliar. “You believe your death better serves your cause, don't you?”**

**“In part,” the old man agreed. “But I wish to die. I've born many burdens in my life, but the six tails sealed within me is the worst. Because I am a Sage, my control over the beast is…staggering. That is why I chose to leave Iwagakure. Such power is not a tool. It should never have been harnessed as a tool.”**

**“Akatsuki will use it as a tool,”...... I said pointedly. “Do you hate your clan so much you would rather give the six tails to us?”**

**He paused, tapping the earth with his staff to keep his footing. “Yes, I hate them,” ......he said calmly. “I am only human, after all.”**

**Something in my heart began to hurt. Ghosts whispered on the breeze. “But you loved them.”**

**"Yes, that too. And blind though I am, I see the rise of your Red Cloud uniting this divided world to stand against you. In the end, there will be peace. For us all. For now, let the snake charmer become a thorn in your side.”.......h** **ow he must have cursed his fate, that night, knowing he was to be given to a creature as foul as Orochimaru.**

**"You've learned so much about my companion, from just tonight?” ......I asked.**

**“I am a friend of the Frog Sage,” .....the old man replied. “Who knew your snake charmer from boyhood. Who was betrayed by him time and time again.”**

**“Jiraiya-sama,” ......I murmured.**

  **“You don't have to do this! Itachi!”**

  **“For the good of the Leaf…”**

**I rubbed my temples. That was the voice I'd heard. Jiraiya's. Telling me I didn't have to slaughter the Uchiha. And I, saying I must, had bowed to the will of Konoha's elders because they feared the Uchiha's power. Had he been there, in that secret council, where they ordered the massacre? Or was this all in my head, my troubled mind trying to rationalize the great crime I'd committed by blaming others?**

**My brother's voice and Shisui's, asking" Why? Why? Why?"**

**I groaned, stumbled. The Sage caught my arm. “Something haunts you. Who is Jiraiya to you?”**

**“I don't know.” .....but I wanted to. "If I could only find out what was happening to me from someone outside my dreams…"**

**“You're ill.”.....the old man laid a cool, leathery palm on my forehead.**

**I shook my head, straightened. Pulled myself together. Tried to banish the pounding in my skull. It was true, my stomach had begun to pain me a few days ago. I might be ill. Could the torment of memories become a disease?**

**“I have given them back to you because you are dying. And because you ought to remember the face of your killer.”......Tobi had warned me in my dream…or was it a memory? Who was my killer? Jiraiya? Pein? Tobi himself?**

**“You should sleep,”..... the Sage said kindly.**

**We had returned to the hermitage walls.He pressed a small scroll into my hand, and gently closed my fingers around it.**

**“Take this. It is for Jiraiya.”.....I took it.**

**In the morning, when we woke, the sun flared above the mountains in an angry red line. And the Sage lay dead on the open plateau. Beside him stood Reina, who had slit his throat.**

**Orochimaru swore loudly. Cursed the skies and pounded the earth. Then he advanced on Reina, murder in his eyes. “You little bitch, what have you done?”**

**Her eyes were alive, and there was an air of peace about her that I would not have thought possible. “I have thwarted my master's plan to turn someone else into a tool for Akatsuki.”**

**He rushed her, ran her through. She scarcely blinked.**

**“Kugutsu,” .....he hissed. “A puppet. You are Sasori's......"**

**“Spy,” ......she finished for him. “His immortal doll. I was sent to test you both. Pein questions your loyalties.”**

**“You weren't sent to kill the damned six tails!”..... Orochimaru snapped, twisting the blade and wrenching it free. He stabbed her over and over again, like a madman, trying to find her heart, the one living part of her.**

**“Stop!”..... I caught his arm, Sharingan flaring in my eyes. “If Pein wants our loyalties tested, killing her won't solve this.”**

**The next thing I knew, he'd turned on me, tried to sink his fangs into my neck. But it was the betrayal I'd been expecting. His teeth never broke my skin; he found himself impaled through the belly on the Sage's staff, which I had picked up. He was desperate. He knew attacking Souen had ruined his chances with Pein, and that I would never vouch for him. He was trying to kill or enslave me, to pin everything—the six tails death, Reina's imminent death on me. All to remain part of Akatsuki  or so I thought at the time.**

**He dragged himself toward me, livid and horrible, pulling the staff further through his body, gathering poisoned chakra to strike at me again with his snake fangs.**

**I caught him with the Mangekyou Sharingan. I tortured him. Years of his false promises, his lies, his tormenting of an already troubled mind. I gave them all back to him then. I can't remember what I showed him; I was half-mad myself.**

**Reina voice called me back.**

**She laid a hand on my shoulder. “Itachi-san. The Serpent Sage believed his life would serve a purpose. He will be a thorn in Akatsuki's side. You want what I want. What he wanted. So please, stay your hand.”**

**Did I want what the old man wanted? Peace?**

**As a child I'd seen the ultimate force of destruction: a demon unleashed in the midst of a war between Villages. The most beautiful thing I'd ever seen a** **nd I'd pissed myself in fear.**

**We all know, on some level, what is good and what is darkness. It is what we choose that makes us who we are.**

**“How do you know what I want?”.... I asked slowly.**

**I drew a kunai with a soft hiss of steel, held it to Orochimaru's throat.**

**She lowered her arm. “Because I know why you slew your clan. I have been Sasori's spy for decades, trapped in this puppet form. And I witnessed the last meeting between you and Uchiha Madara. In the forest, the night before the slaughter, where you begged him to take your memories.” .....her eyes glistened. “He sealed away your love for them so that you could protect Konoha without losing your sanity. But you are remembering.”**

**I sheathed my weapon. Left him trapped in it, standing there still as a statue, mouth twisted in a silent scream.**

**Swung my Mangekyou gaze to reina. “Do you speak the truth? Uchiha Madara sealed my memories before I slew my clan?”**

**Her mouth fell open a little. I released my hold, just enough so that she remembered speech.**

  **“He seeks to join Akatsuki, under the guise of Tobi but he is Uchiha Madara, who took your memories and sealed away your humanity for one night. Who aided you in the slaughter.”.....I froze.**

**She wasn't lying. My dojutsu penetrated to the mind; her artificial body was no defense against me.**

**“I want you to kill me, Uchiha Itachi,”.... she said. “For you can better than any other. Do not force me to return with you to my master, who keeps me prisoner in this body.”**

**She knew I would. I was a god of death, a double-edged sword. A traitor who had killed his clan to protect his Village.**

**With my dojutsu, I could see her heart clearly in the puppet's body. I drew the kunai again, aimed it well.**

**There were tears of joy in her voice. “Take the Serpent Sage's body to them. They will forgive you the loss of the six tails if you blame Orochimaru, and provide them with a corpse full of the Stone Village's secrets. Also, there is a scroll in my pack. Promise me you will deliver it to the princess of the Kaminari. It is all I ask.”**

**At the time, I had no idea if her beloved, cruel princess was still alive after her decades as Sasori's spy. But I promised.**

**She smiled up at me then, for the first and last time. A young smile, that belonged on a spike-haired, brown-eyed woman who still remembered love. “You too, Uchiha Itachi. Soon you will remember, and find meaning again.”**

**I plunged the kunai downward.**

**I traveled back toward Konoha, alone, bearing a corpse over one shoulder, wrapped in my black cloak, and the two scrolls. I had burned Souen's ashes on the plateau, and scattered them in the wind. She, at least, was free.**

**The lonely journey took a heavy toll on me. I was quick but not terribly strong, and my back and neck ached terribly from the load. I camped against stands of boulders, too leery of Orochimaru finding me again to make a fire.**

**I did not sleep a single night. I tried the first night, but woke screaming each time, thrashing off invisible hands. The Uchiha were all around me, all the time. I could feel it. Every time my eyes drifted closed they crowded in around me, clawing and clutching as if I were the one lifeboat in they could cling to. They wanted something from me but I could never understand what. Mortal flesh, so they could live again? An apology, to still their grudge? My spirit, to join theirs? I was drowning in them. The desert was wide and open and free but my memories walled me in.**

**I was beginning to remember the massacre again, in flashes, and the cold-blooded killer who ran at my side to the Uchiha compound, when until recently I'd believed I was alone that night. Uchiha Madara, who split from me in the compound to make better time. I remembered how we were like two renegade wolves, winter-starved and hunting the sheep in their fold. He had made me like him, for the sake of me surviving that night. If I'd had any shred of hesitation in me, I could have been killed before escaping Konoha.**

**I passed travelers, who scarcely looked at me. They must have been too afraid.**

**The pain in my head and stomach grew worse. I began to experience dark spots in my vision, and to believe that the Sage had been right. I was dying.**

**I stopped caring about anything but the sheer will it took to place one foot in front of the other. Reina had said I would find purpose, but I'd lost it instead. Who would give it back to me? Akatsuki, to whom I was just another cog in the grinding machines of war? On the fifth day I collapsed. Dropped like a stone, in a narrow ravine worn smooth by wind and water. The corpse thudded against the stone floor behind me, and I pitched forward.**

**But I was denied even the peace of unconsciousness.**

**"Why why why?".....their wails echoed through the canyon.**

**My head snapped up and I groaned; bloody handprints smeared the rocks around me. Their footsteps whispered over the hard earth, gliding toward me.**

**I scrambled to my feet, spun about to face them.**

**The place was empty. The walls were clean. The only blood red stain came from the dawn, seeping into the canyon. I squinted. A small, dark spot appeared in the sky, drawing nearer. Shading my brow with one shaking hand, I focused my Sharingan and realized it was a messenger hawk. Then the dark spots clouded my sight again, and I ceased the dojutsu, rubbing my eyes with both fists.**

**Moments later, the hawk alighted on the canyon floor. I crouched before it, holding out a hand. With near comical dignity, the bird stuck out one foot, to which a tiny scroll was fastened. I took it, mindful of the sharp beak, and sat to read it.**

 

**_I'm sorry I wasn't able to contact you sooner. But I have left Konoha, and it was difficult to find a messenger. Great injustice has been done, which I will try to set to rights. What has happened between you, and your family, and the village elders can't be undone, but I swear I'll do what I can to give what befell you a purpose. Fate willing, our work will bring about the peace you wanted._ **

**_I will meet you in the Valley of the End, at the next full moon._ **

**_Jiraiya_ **

 

**I read it three times. What was my connection to him? I couldn't remember. I'd seen him before, heard of his strength. But the only connection I saw was that my companion had killed a friend of his, and that I was taking him a message, no doubt to report the old man's death.**

**Frustrated, I opened the scroll the Serpent Sage had entrusted to me.**

 

**_"I know that you have in your care the Jinchuuriki who bears the Kyuubi. The six-tailed dragon inside me begs for release. She will not let me sleep. She tasted freedom only to have it torn from her, so can we blame her? I thought living without sleep would kill me, and end this, but she lent me her strength, so that I remained healthy and sane._ **

**_Now there are three Akatsuki here, to take her from me. I cannot let them take her. But two of them still have good left in their hearts, and........_ **

 

**My heart clenched. Oh, stupid old man, how can you believe that? I have never been `good.' What does it matter to realize I loved my family, loved Konoha? Loving the ones I killed makes me all the more a monster. But I read on.**

 

**_".......and I've found hope. I will ask them to kill me and end my torment. So when this reaches you, I will be gone. But I beg you to watch over your Jinchuuriki, so that he does not suffer the same fate. Jinchuuriki die young because the beast wears them down from the inside, until it becomes who they are. I entreat you to keep your boy who he is. And if the time should come for him, see that his end is quick and merciful._ **

**_Your friend, always_ **

 

**He wanted us to kill him. But he ended up asking Reina, and not me.**

**"Why? ".....had he judged me the weaker of the two?**

  **Then I remembered: “What shadows are those that follow you?”**

**He knew I was haunted. So he, unlike Reina, chose not to lay his burden on me.I closed the scroll again. Then I hoisted his body onto my shoulders, rose, and began walking.**

**Jiraiya was waiting when I arrived at the falls. He sat on one side of the river; I stood on the other. I laid my burden down and waited.**

**He looked older than when I'd last seen him. There were new lines under his eyes, where time had raked its claws. He looked as weathered as the boulders around him, worn smooth by the river. His expression told me that I, too, had changed.**

_**“Come to this side, Itachi,”.... he said gravely.** _

_**I hadn't thought much of what I would say to him, how I'd react. Now I laughed.** _

_**A bitter laugh I had to choke back at the end. “Join you? We can hear each other well enough. This place echoes.”** _

_**He looked sad, so sad. “I don't blame you for not trusting me.”** _

_**“Why do you trust me?”..... I asked. “Don't you know your monster when you see him?”** _

_**His squarish jaw tightened visibly. “We all have monsters in us,”..... he said sharply. “Every one of us. Even the weakest. And Konoha has committed a terrible crime. They forced you to use yours, to draw the blood they were too cowardly to stain their hands with.”** _

  _ **He hadn't even asked about the corpse at my side. He truly was there for me.**_

_**I couldn't imagine why. “So you think to help me out of pity?”** _

_**He bowed his head. “Out of guilt. Sarutobi wants me to succeed him. But when I learned what the council had chosen to do about the Uchiha last month, I left. I was too eager to prevent my hands from being stained, so I abandoned the Village. But I knew I could not let them do such a thing to you, then cast you out to die.”** _

**I laughed again, and this time it hurt, oh it hurt so much. It merged with the pain already twisting my stomach and became a thick mass of pain I could neither heal nor vomit up. “Do such a thing to me? Do such a thing to me? I did it. I did. My monster is stronger than yours, so you wouldn't know. There was no mind control when I agreed to do it. No one held a knife to my throat. They spoke, and I obeyed. And the beauty of it is, I even loved them! I killed Shisui before they ever called upon me! All because strength is my drug, the shadow I chase but never catch.”**

**He bowed his head again. How heavy his guilt must have been! Such a burden! He traveled, wrote his books. While I slaughtered everything I touched.**

_**“They gave you to Ibiki,” ....he said, “when you were twelve.”.....his words struck me like a slap in the face.** _

_**“You were always troubled,” ...he said. “They decided to use you. But you needed to be stronger. Through hypnosis, Morino Ibiki and his interrogators learned the secret of the Mangekyou Sharingan from you. But you were not a monster. Though you struggled with inner violence when you killed enemies, still you would not kill your closest friend willingly. So they gave you a…push. They needed something with which to brand you insane. They were planning to destroy the Uchiha anyway. Shisui was conveniently close at hand.”** _

_**“You're saying,” I said slowly, “that I did not kill Uchiha Shisui.”** _

_**“No,” he said.** _

_**“And my clan…?”.......** _

_**“Memory alteration takes its toll. You started experiencing blank places in your memory. You agreed to destroy the Uchiha of your own volition, to protect Konoha. It was not a choice you made lightly. When they offered you hypnosis to keep you sane, you refused. You were frightened. But in the end you could not bring yourself to do it with a clear head, and you began to lose your sanity as the appointed day approached......** _

**_"The man in the mask .... Madara Uchiha ... he came to me that night and .... I do not know ... my mind is here in interruption ...."_ **

_**""Madara Uchiha ....." ..... Jiraiya said nothing.** _

_**“Have I helped him?” I...... asked, suddenly dizzy.** _

_**I couldn't remember. Every word I'd spoken with Madara felt like a dream.** _

_**“I don't know,” Jiraiya said, and now his tone was gentle. “That is for you to determine. I am here to confess my guilt, and the guilt of the council and to absolve you of yours.”** _

_**“Your friend is dead,” .....I said and I tossed him the scroll.** _

 T _ **he shock of being told I was not guilty was too much. I needed him to hate me. I wanted someone to hate me. When you've hated yourself for so long you become addicted to it.**_

_**He caught the scroll but didn't read it. “You didn't kill him, Itachi.”** _

_**I smiled, but there was no truth in it. “I don't know. Maybe I did. And I just want to believe I didn't.”** _

 He _ **only looked sad. “You're dying.”**_

_**I exhaled. Paced a meaningless circle while the world blurred around me. My face burned.** _

_**“How?”..... I finally asked.** _

_**I did not question the truth of it.** _

_**“You're ill,” ....the old man had said.** _

_**“I'm not sure who,”...... Jiraiya said heavily. “Danzou was the most ruthless. And Root breeds assassins. But you carry in your blood a slow-acting toxin meant to end your life once you've accomplished your purpose.”** _

_**“How long?”......he produced a small glass vial from his pack. “I'm still working on a true antidote, but this slows the spread.”** _

_**He threw it to me, and I caught it. I didn't tell him, but I was glad it wouldn't keep me from dying. I had protected Konoha with my sins, hadn't I? Now my purpose was served. I'd reached the height of my purpose, and beyond this strength was meaningless.** _

_**“What should I give you in return?”..... I asked him.** _

_**I could not have lived with myself being in his debt. Not when my life wasn't worth preserving.** _

_**He looked down at the corpse beside me. “You have brought my friend to me, so he can be buried. That is enough.”** _

_**It was not enough. The phantoms swirling round me like sea mist hissed that it was not. I might have destroyed their lives for the sake of many more, but the person who must lose his life never sees it that way. They would follow me until I joined them, and until that day no good I did would ever, ever beenough.** _

_**“I will serve Konoha, then,”..... I said. “As your spy.”** _

_**He gave me a long, measuring look. I think he'd been secretly hoping for such an arrangement, but had been too full of guilt to ask. Even now, he was too full of guilt to accept.** _

_**“Itachi, enough has been asked of you,” .....he said. “I will send you new antidotes as I find them.”** _

_**I didn't want his forgiveness.** _

_**I backed away from the river's shore, into the shadows of the wood, into my shadows. “I will send you information.”** _

_**“What about Sasuke?”...... he called after me. “You were close, before…”** _

_**“Tell him nothing,”..... I answered.** _

_**I had spent too long trying to make him into what I was. If he did not keep his hatred for me, I feared he might follow me into ruin, regain his love for me and suffer in a Village that believed I was insane. Better he stay bound to Konoha, to learn that I was with Akatsuki and come to hate and fear them, as well he should.** _

_**I slipped off into the forest, alone.** _

**Five years later, I trudged the muddy road to Otafuku. My stomach hurt constantly, and the Mangekyou Sharingan was beginning to take its toll on my vision. But I was alive, thanks to Jiraiya's constantly updated versions of the antidote. At my side strode Kisame, my new partner. They had assigned him to me one year after Orochimaru left the organization. He was a cruel man in battle, a deformed relic of the old shinobi teachings in the Water Country, a Mist swordsman. But he was also remarkably polite. He knew that when dwelling among the best and brightest of the world's killers, it was best to avoid offending them. Smart man.**

**He also never tried to pry into my past. Again, smart man.**

**Unfortunately, along the road, beneath a stead downpour, my past found me again.**

**We met him while taking shelter under a wood awning by the roadside. I with my straw hat pulled low. He sat hooded in his grey cloak, cleaning water spots from his glasses.**

**“The storm will clear soon,” ......he remarked casually. “But there's bound to be a clash. You're not the only one journeying to Otafuku, after the Nine-Tails brat.”**

**Kisame tilted his head and grinned, one hand surreptitiously sliding to the hilt of his sword, Samehada. I stilled him with a barely perceptible shake of my head.**

**“Orochimaru is targeting Uzumaki Naruto as well?”..... I asked. “Or are you warning me about Jiraiya, with whom the boy travels?”**

**This was going to be a delicate enough operation, my planned failure to capture Naruto. Jiraiya had spent months discussing it; how to fool my partner. Kisame wasn't an idiot, and that was a problem. The last thing I wanted was to add another powerful non-idiot to the mix.**

**Kabuto smirked. “You should know, Orochimaru wants the boy. For his next body. For the eyes, specifically.”**

**I knew about the “snake charmer's” body-jumping habits by this point. And I knew that Kabuto wasn't talking about Naruto when he said “the boy.”**

**“Why tell me?”..... I asked coldly. “Surely your master didn't send you.”**

**Kabuto leaned his head back against the shelter wall. “Mm…I wonder. But as for why I'm telling you,you tell me. You're the one who spared him from the massacre. I doubt it was so that he could become someone else's skin.”**

**“No,”...... I murmured.**

**“Well then.” ......he rose and left.**

**Kisame peered at me with great interest. “Who was the brat talking about, Itachi-san?”**

**“No one important.”.......I made a vow to myself, as the rain pounded the roof.**

**Orochimaru would never have my brother. Sasuke was the last good part of me.**

**Sasuke was mine.“He's my brother.”**

_**My brother, who was my last remaining purpose. Who was the last real meaning to my life.Whom I loved.** _

_**But I can't tell him any of this; he wouldn't understand. His face is contorted with hatred. He has become what I've made him, and he will never love me again.** _

_**Feebly he struggles to free himself from my grasp, for I have pinned him to the wall, to show my strength, to pretend I'm cruel, to keep him safe.** _

_**He is the best part of me, the only part worth saving.** _

**He’s lived far longer than he ever planned to, longer than he ever even vaguely considered he would be able to. Twelve years ago, when he planted the seed of destruction in his little brother’s mind, he had done it with a full understanding of Sasuke's nature, his recklessness and single-minded drive and strain of Uchiha madness. He had even accounted for the fact that Sasuke would grow up alone, outside of the Clan’s influence, and be less susceptible because of it. A few words, a bloody and unforgettable nightmare, a betrayal by the one Sasuke loved best—that was all it took to activate the Curse of Hatred so very much a part of an Uchiha’s genetic makeup.**

**It is a funny thing, their curse. The source of their power, of the Sharingan, but at the same time their inevitable downfall. Itachi knows very well the pain of it, of the transformation into the Mangekyo. Sometimes even now he can feel Shisui pressing his bloody eye into Itachi’s hand, smiling all the while. Can feel the burn of it in his veins, grief and is this because of me what have I done and the loss of the only Uchiha who ever understood him completely. Afterwards, it felt right to be blamed for his death, to be looked on as a murderer, because wasn’t he?**

**He’ll catch himself, sometimes, writing Shisui’s name as water death, rather than still water, and it makes him want to laugh until the ache is gone, until the regret is fully buried the way it never really is. Makes him want to rage, because the Curse should have taken him then, swallowed him up and allowed him the reprieve of simple madness. But his loyalty to Konoha had saved him even as it doomed him, and he’d been left alive and alone, a pacifist responsible for more deaths than most mass-murderers, a traitor to the village he would do anything to save, a mortal enemy to the little brother he loves more than life itself.**

_**Sasuke.!**_ _ **May you never understand what I have done and why, and leave me to follow this dark path alone. May you live to see peace. I will watch over you, silent and sure a** _ _**nd I will be your shadow.**_

  

_**At the end of my prayer was answered. I will not to die, I have now a new goal, Reina and Sage were right. Naruto has given me a new life, Sasuke does not hate me, protect and preserve such precious hope.** _

 

**"Itachi ... Itachi .." ..... from my thoughts startled me the voice of Jiraiya.**

**"Jiraiya ....?" ...... I was surprised by his presence.**

**"You get lost in your thoughts, do not you?" ..... Jiraiya said quietly.**

**"Well, I did .... my life in my thoughts flew the speed of light. I'm still not sure that this is all true. I never would not expect that I will get a chance for redemption." ...... I was laughed quietly .**

**"Probably all of us have a chance for a new life." .... Jiraiya came down to me on the floor.**

**"Sasuke and Naruto ..... what kind of plan they have? Nine Jinchuriki together .... Akatsuki will never know what would befall them." ..... I laughed out loud at this.**

**"Itachi, I'm sorry that I did not believe you when you mention Madara Uchiha, but I do not know how he survived so long or someone else has taken his identity." .... he began to think out loud.**

**"I just do not know, no one survived that night .... masked man has sharingan and knows all about Konoha ... but I'm sure he's out of my clan." ..... I joined him." Akatsuki also believe that Madara is alive."......I noted.**

**"Itachi, whether in your clan there is a technique that the caster removes the boundaries between reality and illusion within their personal space to a degree this allows the user to control their state of existence. "..... he asked me.**

**I look at him in surprise: "Now that you mentioned, there is a technique Izanagi .... but what does that matter."**

**"Can you tell me something about this technique .... I think it would be something that could hide." ..... Jiraiya looked at me strangely.**

**"The Izanagi is a genjutsu able to perform with Sharingan. Even with such an eye acting as a medium, gaining the power to temporarily control reality's flow as the user sees fit comes at a price; one has very limited reserves of time within a single eye for invoking this technique. This technique would normally be used for only the most dire of situations and for but a brief moment as after the Sharingan with which Izanagi was casted exceeds its limit, the said eye becomes powerless and is rendered blind permanently, with the rare exception that its sight and power can be restored to the said eye by further evolving it into a Rinnegan.".......I explained to him:" Izanagi can be implanted into one's Sharingan to trigger the technique even after the user has already died. Damn it all...... ".......my mind began to stack information: "Impossible!"**

**""I suspected something like that ..... which means that Madara Uchiha was able to survive. He rewrote his death and went into hiding to work on his plans." ...... here he stopped thinking hard . "But it is impossible to be alive even today with any technique. Nagato has Rinnegan. Sage of the Six Paths, is the original possessor of the Rinnegan. How?.....RINNEGAN....is a puzzle....".....Jiraiya tried to think further. "I do not know .... if the Madara managed to have Rinnegan ..... how he managed ....., aaaah for crying out loud ..... "..... Jiraiya was annoyed.**

**"Well, Jiraiya to me fell one idea to the mind." ..... I thought of something.**

 


	57. SPOOK IN KONOHA

 

**He was alone in the room and looked at the scrolls with secret techniques that had accumulated while he was in Root. Sasuke was absent at a meeting with Sakura.**

**While he sat quietly, with the corner of his eye he noticed some outlines that move, and when he turned his eyes to that point there was nothing. **However he felt that his body hair lifted in the air and he felt cold in the space around him.****

**He knew that he does not imagines, and he had a feeling that he was being watched."Kurama!"... he calls in mind: "Do you have the feeling that someone is with the us in the room?"**

**"Um, I do not feel anybody. I do not feel any chakra, unless it is the spirit but I'll call Mei just in case. ." ...... after a while he answered and said, "It is not spirit! Mei also can not identify no one"**

**"Well, Kurama I do not imagine, someone else in the room except us. "..... he spoke in his mind when he felt a cold breeze on his neck.**

**It was enough that he jumped from his chair watching the space around them. For a moment he saw a shadow .... undefined humanoid shape more like a mist with the red eyes who were staring in him.  Shadow is passing through substance as if it does not exist. The temperature in the room became more lower, his breath became visible steam and he did not at all feel comfortable.**

**"Kurama, I do not like it! ".... again he spoke to him.**

**"Brat, do not tell me that you scared?" ..... Kurama had a humorous tone.**

**"I think sometimes people get scared and they become defensive, even though they do not understand something.".....he said to him.**

**At that moment the light goes out and he found himself in the dark.**

**His hair was lifted into the air of fear and he felt a strong feeling of annoyance. "For God's sake Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was a lot scarier than this is not Kurama?" .... Naruto said aloud.**

**"I would not say with the regard to your pressure is growing!" .... Kurama said anxiously.**

**Although it was dark he now saw the shadow which was even more darker than dark. He watched the shadows toward him getting closer and closer with the red eyes which were now dark red color .**

**His breath was becoming more visible, intermittent, and he began to breathe heavily. The temperature in a room rapidly decreases.**

**The pressure that he felt became unbearable.**

**"Naruto, get out!" .... Kurama cried,**

**On his a shout Naruto mechanically ran to the balcony, tearing down all that was found in his way . But when he came out he was greeted by thick fog.**

**Spook with the red eyes was behind him and he felt a cold wind in the back. When he turned back the spook took the form of Madara Uchiha.**

**"Long time no see Naruto!" .... he heard a voice that belonged to Madara.**

**"You're not real! You're still dead. Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation is not ....." ..... he suddenly paused because instead of him spoke Kurama.**

**"Kurama, what happens?" .... Naruto asked.**

**"You do not say another word!" .... Kurama warn him.**

**"This is someone's mischief!" .... he just said.**

**Then the fog dispersed and spook disappeared. Naruto lowered himself to the floor and he breathed air into the lungs and then exhaled out.**

**"That was close!" .... said."Now you see that I was right.!"**

**"I do not see the phantom like you!" .... Kurama said.""But when I heard the voice to me did everything become clear!"**

**"Why?" ..... he asked.**

**"Probably they suspect something, but they are trying to learn something! They are not stupid, Kakashi and Jiraiya are geniuses in the discovery of facts.."......he gets a response.**

**From the other side of Konoha approaching storm.**

**"Well, Sasuke is not at home!" .... Kurama noted.**

**"I think he should be here any minute. The storm is coming!" .... Naruto looked into the distance.**

**""Childrens job!"  .... smiled Kurama.**

**Up to his ears from a distance came the sound of thunder. It was a muggy day with a hint of thunder.**

**The sky became dark and low with ominous black clouds and the wind picked up, howling, crying, warning, baying like a wolf into the night. Black clouds sprawl across the sky, billowing in from the west.  The air grows heavy and the humidity presses down, suffocating. The scent of rain is dark and heady. A stillness falls over Konoha, and in the silence comes a low crackle of thunder, t** **he wind screams more than howls. The trees they bend and moan in wrath enough to scare the Gods, branches torn like paper limbs. This storm, more wicked than any in living memory, is watched through debris that tumbles in the vortices , heavy like bullets, destroying anything and everything, avenging the forgotten. The boughs of the trees swayed in the strengthening gust, surrendering their fall leaves without a fight.**

**The thunder seamed to crack the air, as if the very heavens might split apart. It rolled like the ash could of a volcano, becoming a rolling booming rumble. It declared to all the raw power of nature and gave fair warning of the wrath that was to come. The first crack of lightening rent the air and within seconds the rolling boom of the thunder reverberated overhead.**

**For a moment, everything stops. Even the wind holds its breath. Then came the first drops of rain like bullets , a streak of hot silver splits the sky, and the downpour begins.**

  **Sasuke felt a cold shiver all over his body. The wind was howling, the leaves from the trees were rustling. He was all by hemself caught in this storm. Nobody else was outside. They went inside to cover up from the storm.**

**In the distance he could see the storm terrorisaing the town up ahead. He could even hear the light pitter-patter of the hail as it stormed down towards the ground. It was coming. The sky started to rumble really loudly. He saw a flash of lightning up ahead.**

**Now the storm was getting really close. He closed his eyes just as another flash of lightning bolted down from the sky. The thunder rolled again for a really long time. Another lightning bolt came from the sky. A crackling sound of thunder made him shiver. He slowed down a bit so he could have a rest but not only for that reason: the storm was here.**

**He shielded his face from the terrible winds. He took a deep breath and got up again. He started to walk, then jog, and then he ran as fast as he could towards home. He stopped silently as the wind died down a bit but not for long. He couldn’t see a thing the sky was so dark he couldn’t see where he was going. The rain was pitter pattering loudly.**

**He was already close to the apartments at one point, corner of his eye he caught a shadow next to him. Powerful flash shine a light on the darkness and he saw a man in the mask. The surprise was so great that he jumped on the roof.**

**"Obito!" ..... he whispered.**

**The shadow disappeared when the sky heard rolling thunder and the sky lit the sparkling light of lightning that are like snakes surrounded the entire area around Konoha.**

**"Sasuke!".....Naruto welcomed him worried voice.**

**"I am at home!" .... he yelled and ran to the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes on.**

**Outside, the storm still raged but two of them were quiet because they were together at the house. As they dined Naruto told him what happened. Sasuke smiled, and he said that he saw Obito, and then both imagine.**

**"I hope so .....!" .... they both had the same thought.**

**That night they slept next to each other, because spook was there.**

**"Sweet dreams, you two!" .... Jiraiya and Itachi standing below the balcony in the shade and both said, "Yes!"....Kurama was just waved his tails as he pushes unwelcome guests with a large grin.**

 


	58. REVELATION

                                                                           

 

**They hardly know each other in their past until the revelation of a secret  from the future unites them again.**

**Jiraiya and Itachi after a successful diversion find themselves in big trouble.**

**"Hahha .... Jiraiya who are two of them?" .... Itachi laughed coarsely.  
**

**"I do not know their secret exceeds our capabilities." ..... Jiraiya anxiously said, "He's your brother!"  
**

**"My brother ..... he has long ago overtaken me!" ..... Itachi was wistful: "For God's sake, I'm supposed to protect him!"**

**"Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha two of them were long dead and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki is the matriarch of the  Ōtsutsuki clan.......well, it could have been worse."......Jiraiya groaned:" What happened in the future? This is getting more serious than we thought."......two of them were thrown out.**

** Naruto woke up at dawn. He was restless and he went out to the balcony. There was a tension in the air, like static. It seemed to freeze people like they were fearful of being shocked. Morning’s sunrise was a breathtaking display of radiant colors. Bright streaks of red, pink, and orange slowly overcame the dark blue and purple of the twilight sky. The sky resembled a prism; all the colors blended perfectly into each other. The sun itself was just peeking out of the horizon, and its brilliant rays already shined brightly and began to warm the air. **

** "Naruto! What's your problem? All night you were restless!" ...... Sasuke stretching next to him sighing fresh morning air. **

** ""Sasuke, maybe we make mistakes?" ..... he will at once. **

** "Where we make mistakes?" ..... Sasuke watched him closely. **

** "Well, our return to the past .... we should go back to a certain time but not ... we went deeper into the past .... prohibition that we get may not apply at this time .... time when we should come back here in front of us .. ".... Naruto thought . **

** "The thought had crossed my mind. I think we made a lot of mistakes, but nothing happened. What will happen when the time comes our true arrival in time ..... all this we learn whether we would forget .....and where Naruto and Sasuke from this time ....your grandfather explained that in the time could not be two identical persons ...."....Sasuke had the same opinion. **

** ""Kurama, are you following us?" .... he is expecting his answer. **

** "Of course I follow ... the truth is that we all make mistakes and nothing happened. I think that is your soul transferred in the persons at this time. Well, I do not know the principles of movement through time, this I just guess . "..... Kurama said. **

** "Sasuke ......" .... Naruto wanted to say something but is interrupted by Sasuke: "Come on, if we fall, we will rise again! We will find the way. " **

**Hiruzen after learning new facts called an emergency meeting. It was a meeting that had never happened in the Konoha. All the participants were coming and before the time of the meeting, because they felt that something is happening .**

**The meeting was supposed to start when in front of them suddenly appear Naruto and Sasuke who have passed through the barrier without any problems.**

**"The old man, I do not know how ...." ... Naruto lost the thread when he saw the views of those present to yourself.."Sasuke....I need a little help. "**

**Sasuke and Naruto was overwhelmed by the number of those present in the conference room."You are preparing for war?"....he whispers, and Naruto hit him on the back, "Idiot!".....he looked at Naruto: "Well, I did not expect this!"....he hissed.**

**"Well, what are you two doing here and how you pass through the barrier?" .... Hiruzen watched them with interest.**

**"Well, the barrier is not something in particular?" .... both said what others begin to comment.**

**"Sasuke, this could take a while ... it would be best that we shorten the story here. ".... he spoke to him and make a grin.**

**Naruto in front of them went into the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. Naruto gains a chakra shroud with six magatama around his neck and two distinctive pieces of hair-like horns resembling the Sage of the Six Paths' silhouette along with a swirl design that resembles the Uzumaki clan's symbol. Naruto's chakra shroud is also covered by various other black lines and spiral patterns, which expand further along his body in certain situations. At times, Naruto's shroud gains the additional seals that appear on his hands while in Tailed Beast Mode. The colour of his eyes changes from blue to orange when he is in this form and while the demon fox shroud is red and releases chakra as acidic bubbles, this form's shroud is yellow and releases chakra as flickering flames.**

**"This is  Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!"......he said, to the surprise of those present and here Sasuke took his hand: "It is time to see if we're right!".....he whispered .... and they both close their eyes, encompassing Sasuke with chakra.**

**"You have under control nine tails!" ..... with excitement yelled Jiraiya and he in the jump appears next to him .**

**Sasuke and Naruto opened eyes: "Nothing happened!" ... they sighed deeply, Naruto comes out of chakra mode and they went down to the floor.**

**"Jiraiya, the two of us do not have a contract, he is with me here, because he wants to be with me. He has a name. Kurama! and he is part of me. If anyone here from the present has something against him, I will leave Konoha. People are wrong as they turned into a weapon. If you want to blame someone, blame themselves, not him.  
He is not a weapon of war. He is my friend and my family. ".... Naruto is everyone looked with a very serious and dangerous views."Decide right now!"**

**Also present were excited, loudly commented and Naruto is seen there will be no a positive response.  
**

**"Sasuke I've left you a letter. Read it!" .... he hugged Sasuke and disappear in front of them.**

**"Naruto ...." .... Sasuke was speechless, "Never you will not learn a lesson. I feel sorry for you all, so you are blinded by hate that you can not see what is in front of you. You do not deserve him."....Sasuke spoke with anger.**

**"Sasuke where is Naruto?"   .... Hiruzen asked when abated clamor in the conference room.**

**"I do not know, probably went to Yagura, Yondaime Mizukage or at Gara in the Suna!" .... he said.**

**On this occurs dead silence in the conference room.**

**"Why?" ....asked Itachi.**

**"Probably because they share the same fate? Probably because they are tied to the same dream. Peace without hate!" ..... Sasuke replied quietly but the words rang through the dead silence in the conference room." That's what you'll never understand!".**

**"I'm sorry but I'm going with him. Itachi guard him safe!"......his eyes fell on Sasuke and he said:"I have made a promise to the fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze!" ...... Kakashi wanted to leave the room but him stopped Sasuke, "Kakashi stay if you want to see what's he everything made for this world! ".... he stops: "OK but I do not give up to be with him."**

**Naruto was not generally angry, because he is in the head had another plan. This situation is completely suit him. He is now able to move faster.**

**"Kurama, we're going to Uzushiogakure!" .... Naruto had an excited voice.**


	59. HISTORY

**"Sasuke calm down .... Naruto's does not think like this!" ..... Itachi put his arm around his brother.**

**"I know that, but Naruto is right. While hatred flourishes will be no peace. In the future, Naruto is reunited whole shinobi world. No one here knows the real Naruto, but I can show you, what kind of person you twice rejected.". .... Sasuke looked at Hiruzen."But before that I owe you an explanation.**

**"Me and Naruto have been returned in the past. We should go back to a certain time with the whole shinobi world but something happened accidentally, and the two of us we ended up deeper into the past. Three years from now it will happen Fourth Shinobi World War, which will be led by Obito Uchiha. "...... present listened with with care.**

**"Obito ...." .... Kakashi was confused:""Obito is dead!"**

**"I'm sorry Kakashi senpai but not true. Madara Uchiha helped him to stay alive." .... Sasuke spoke quietly: "He fell under the lies of Madara!".**

**"Itachi masked man was not Madara but Obito. Madara is to him transferred all his knowledge to fulfill his desire Infinite Tsukuyomi with genjutsu that traps the entire world and an illusion, enslaving them and a dream is that their chakra may be drawn upon. But Madara fell under the lies of black Zetsu who was the physical manifestation of Princess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's will. it secretly instigated many of the events that shaped the shinobi world to secure Kaguya's revival.**

**Long before the founding of the hidden villages, during an era of endless war, Kaguya consumed the fruit of the Tree God and became the first wielder of chakra on Earth, before later merging with the tree to become the Ten-Tails. Losing all faith in humanity but still longing for peace, Kaguya believed that it was necessary for her to attain god-like powers in order to put an end to all of humanity's conflicts. For that reason, she defied the taboo of consuming the fruit of the God Tree. Using her new-found power, Kaguya single-handedly ended the wars. This eventually led her to madness, committing acts such as turning victims of the Infinite Tsukuyomi into an army ofWhite Zetsu, in preparation for Ōtsutsuki descendants from another world coming to Earth to steal her chakra for themselves.**

**The battle ended with Hagoromo and Hamura sealing the beast's chakra within the former's body while using its husk as the core of the Six Paths - Chibaku Tensei, creating a celestial body that would become known as the moon. Hamura later took leadership of the Ōtsutsuki member and departed to the moon to guard the beast's remains, while Hagoromo remained on Earth in order to spread chakra to humanity and teach them the concept of ninshū.**

**However, just before her sons could completely seal her, Kaguya had manifested her willin the form of an artificial human called Black Zetsu. With the agenda of reviving its "mother," Black Zetsu manipulated Hagoromo's eldest son, Indra Ōtsutsuki, as well as his descendants within the Uchiha clan and hisbrother's descendants within the Senju clan in an attempt to get one of them to awaken the Rinnegan and break the seal. Madara Uchiha would eventually succeed in obtaining the Rinnegan, and Black Zetsu began secretly manipulating world events that have revived Kaguya.**

**Madara had planned ahead: he had scheduled an Izanagi to activate sometime after his death, changing reality to bring him back to life in exchange for his right eye's vision. He left a copy and place of his real body and went into hiding with a special trophy from his fight with Hashirama: a mouthful of Hashirama's flesh that he transplanted into his wounds. It was not until decades later, towards the end of Madara's natural life, that the cells had any effect, awakening the Rinnegan.**

**With the Rinnegan he was able to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which he used to cultivate a mindless living clone of Hashirama from which he believed he had produced a White Zetsu Army.**

**Over the years, Madara had perfected his plans for peace and what he called the Eye of the Moon Plan. But as his years waned, Madara knew he could not complete his plans and the time he had left. So he transplanted his Rinnegan into a young Nagato without the boy's knowing, intending Nagato to someday use the eyes to restore Madara to life. If Nagato was to do this, however, Madara would need an agent to act on his behalf and guide Nagato towards this ultimate goal. Madara waited, connecting himself to Demonic Statue to keep him alive until someone could be found. Madara spent this time keeping a close eye on Konoha to find a suitable pawn to take his place.**

**Madara found a badly injured Obito Uchiha. Madara used Hashirama's cells to replace Obito's damaged extremities and placed a Forbidden Curse Individual Tag and Obito's heart as a fail-safe in case Obito ever turned against him. Until then, Madara began working towards corrupting Obito. He had Kirigakure kidnap the girl loved Obito, Rin Nohara, and seal the Three-Tails into her. He then manipulated events so that Rin would die at the hand of Obito's friend, Kakashi Hatake, while Obito watched.Driven to despair, Obito offered his services to Madara.**

**As a final act, he left behind Black Zetsu - what he believed to be a manifestation of his will - to provide additional guidance to Obito in pursuit of that goal. With that, Madara disconnected from the Demon Statue, with his dying breath, Obito entrusted with his name: Madara Uchiha.**

**The stone tablet is a monument which was created by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki in order to discourage his son's descendants from attempting to recreate the Rinnegan. The tablet can only be deciphered fully by the Rinnegan, while the Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan are able to partially decipher it.**

**Some time after Hagoromo's death, certain details on the tablets were forged by Black Zetsu as part of its plan to revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. The tablets eventually fell into the possession of the Uchiha clan, where it was secretly passed down for generations.**

**Through careful study, Madara was able decipher enough of it to learn of the history of shinobi: of the endless cycle of failed peace and the destiny of battle between Uchiha and Senju, but also a means of unity for the world. With this knowledge, Madara decided Konoha was a failed experiment."........Sasuke stood up and said: "All this has led to Fourth Shinobi World War. The victims were high while on the other hand, almost no one was hurt, because they were not creatures of flesh and blood .  
**

**The victory was ours but ..... "..... he has made the very long break while in the room almost no one breathed:" Hagoromo before I and Naruto interrupted infinite Tsukuyomi he offered us to change the past, the conditions, the two of us to remember, others none, jutsu and techniques that we had we were not allowed to use. We chose what we chose. "**

**"Inoichi Yamanaka I know that you in combination with Shikaku Nara can perform Mind Reading Techniques that attendees can see a projection of my memories" .... Sasuke turned to Inoichi."Comments you leave aside!"......he then addressed the audience.**


	60. DECISION

**"Before I start with my memories I would like to just point out one thing, and I'll give you and show. ".......he in front of them activated Rinnegan:" As for Naruto, he gained access to the Six Paths Sage Mode. Naruto also manifests nine Truth-Seeking Balls, composed of all five basic natures, Yin-Yang Release, and Six Paths Sage Chakra. Just so you know who you are rejected for a second time. ".........Sasuke looked in their eyes that were full of surprise and disbelief:"** **My memories do not go from the beginning of when the war began, because I was later included but I can later explain why." ..... Sasuke relaxed not paying attention to their comments and images began to run.**

 

 _ **Sasuke asks Zetsu if he can take off the bandages over his eyes. Zetsu tells him to be patient. By the next day, Sasuke is tired of waiting and removes the bandages anyway, killing White Zetsu with his Susanoo in order to test his new powers.** _ ****

 

_**Sasuke leaves the Mont's Graveyard and wanders through two towns, but finds both strangely empty. When members of the White Zetsu Army come after him, Sasuke asks what's currently happening in the world. The Zetsus avoid answering and try to capture him. He destroys most of them with Amaterasu and interrogates one other with a genjutsu.** _

 

 "This is war, I have to defeat my enemies.....we have ti sieze Killer Bee and Naruto Uzumaki. We must hurry his comrades are gathering to the place where he is.".........ZETSU

 

_A personal opinion_

_"If you will come and attack Konoha I will fight you if your hatred will bring you to that, you have to concentrate all of it on me.....".......words of Naruto._

_"FINE....you will be the first I will kill! You are someone that experienced the same pain and loneliness as me and that pain makes people stronger, that is why by cutting this bonds I will obtain even more strength to eliminate the Uchiha from  this rotten ninja world in a certain sense, you from Konoha always wished for it._

_Just like you wished in the past to repudiate the Uchiha I will erase the them from your memories,by killing all of you in Konoha! The purification will consist in cutting all the bonds with you! That will be the true restoration of the Uchiha."........I WILL GO TO THAT PLACE AS WELL IN ORDER TO KILL YOU!"_

 

**"These white creatures, the army of Obito and Madara, artificially created!" .... commented Hiruzen.**

**"White Zetsu was originally one of the victims of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Infinite Tsukuyomi, who was transformed after being tethered to the God Tree for a certain period of time and ultimately stored within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. After Madara Uchiha summoned the statue and cultivated Hashirama Senju's DNA into a large flowering tree, Black Zetsu removed White Zetsu and the other victims from inside the husk, leading Madara to believe they were artificial humans created by the statue's chakra and Hashirama's DNA.".......Sasuke explained.**

**"You're really going to destroy Konoha and you two were on opposite sides. What changed your mind?" ...... asked Kakashi.**

**"Naruto!" .... he just answered.**

 

_****Immediately upon entering a nearby forest, Sasuke sees Itachi going in the opposite direction. In the short time passing through his mind the image in an instant.** ** _

 

 

 

  
                               

_Sasuke followed him:"Why are you here you should be dead"_

_"This is Kabuto's technique....I am here because of the Edo tensei and I can not stop now, I have important things to do."......_

_"Do you remeber what you said to me? When you have the same eyes with me, come to me, so why are you running away. Do you feel guilty because you lied to me or you don't have the courage to tell me the truth!.......I already know everthing abaut you, thats why I decided to destroy Konoha."......_

_"I already told this to you whwn we fought, people live inside their convictions if you think in that way, if your truth is just an illusion then the truth about me in reality is......"........_

_"I am not into an illusion anymore!I can see through your genjutsu because THESE ARE YOUR EYES!"......._

_"Your confidence when you talk did not change but they told me about what you did until now, you quite changed...."......._

_"That is wrong, you were the one who changed everything about me.....I should have died, you were supposed to kill me and my parents together and yet...why i was the only one? Why I was the only one to survive?"......._

"And then Itachi decided to close the curtain of his clan with his own hands. He did not hate or betrayed the Uchiha, he did not have any other choice. The discrimination that was born in the village and all the discord piled up to that moment Itachi decided to bear them on hid shoulders and no one can blame him to have taken such a decision!!......OBITO" Are you able to understand why you are the only he did not kill? For Itachi your life was more important than the whole village!"

_"You did not know anything about what was happening at that time,you did not know anything about the uchiha clans foolish idea....you were just a kid, plus it was not for you sake alone I also thought that one day I should be judged for the crimes I committed by an Uchiha like you....for that sake I used the hatred within you and that is why I faild. The only thing I did was, giving the hatred to you and making you flee from the village, I turned you into a criminal. I wished that you would walk the right path and yet from the moment I died you are walking the wrong path...you were enticed into a straight path without branching roads. I wanted to rewrite the indication on your path with my lies and efforts.".......Itachi, he wanted to explain it to him._

_"You wanted me to walk on that path while I was ignorant about the truth? I do not wish to walk on such path.".......Sasuke was angry ._

_"Yeah, just as you said, you have to decide the path you want to walk."......._

_"No matter you rewrite the indications on that path I can see trough those changes already!"........_

_"Heh..."....._

_"What is so funny?"......._

_"Nothing....not just indications guide you on the path you walk...."......Sasuke was confused, not knowing what is Itachi wanted to say."I am someone dead after all, I will not talk from on..."......_

_"When you were alive you always poked my forehead. You could not look after me and then you ran away. Are you going to run away now? You are dead as well?"........_

_"It is not like I am running away I told you that there are important things that I have to do......I have to stop THE EDO TENSEI:"_

_**When Sasuke persists, as they near Kabuto's lair Itachi tries one last time to shake him, only to be disappointed when Sasuke joins him shortly after he confronts Kabuto. Sasuke moves to kill Kabuto, but is blocked by Itachi,**_

_"If you kill the one who performed the Edo Tensei, the jutsu will continue forever. First of all I will use my Tsukuyomi on him to understand how to stop it. Then, while he is still under the effect of Tsukuyomi, I'll control him and stop the jutsu."....and he explained.:"Any jutsu has a weakness.This jutsu is weak point and risk.....ARE ME!"......._

 

**"The Edo tensei......Sasuke you are joking... ..."...... Guy snapped: "To hell, how many Kabuto them back to life?"**

**Well, let's say all the latest Kage, Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and many more as well as Konoha ninja with exceptional techniques. "...... Sasuke replied audience that they all had the same reaction, surprise that it turned into anger.**

**"Wow, that victims were pretty much!" ..... Guy opened his eyes as if thinking: "... and in the end the two of them won ..... they are really great fighters!"**

**"Itachi I'm glad you're on our side. You really are a great ninja." ...... Asuma commented.**

**"Well, no wonder, because he has always demonstrated that he has the talent to do great things. a pity that things have gone the wrong path but his memory, showing the other side of your actions." ....... Hiruzen looked at him over the eye .**

**"I think that to me is nothing left in that situation ..... maybe if I had someone in whom I believe I believe that things went a different way. After the death of Shisui, my opinion is only worsened." ..... .Itachi had a wistful look as he remembered his friend:"Sasuke, I'm glad you're here .... I'm glad it was me Naruto gave a new path."**

**"It is not only you carve a new path, but on me also." ..... he had a smile on his face:" But I want to show you who is the real Itachi .....!".....**

 

 _**Sasuke offers to help on the condition that Itachi will finally talk to him afterwards. Itachi agrees.** _ **_Kabuto obscures his vision to prevent being caught in a genjutsu and attacks. Itachi and Sasuke block with their Susanoo, only to find that they have lost track of Kabuto. Itachi realises that Kabuto has achieved Sage Mode and quickly defends Sasuke before he can come to harm in Kabuto's sneak attack._ **

 

 ** _Itachi reminds Sasuke of a mission they went on as children to hunt a boar, which they reenact with their Susanoo against Kabuto. Kabuto avoids them and commandeers Sasuke's sword, which he uses to attack Itachi. Itachi takes the sword back from him_ _and uses it to cut off the tip of one of Kabuto's horns_** _. **Kabuto tries to turn Sasuke against Itachi, pointing out all the lies and distrust Itachi has been showing Sasuke for years.**_

 

_"The village does have its dark side and its inconsistencies but I AM THE LEAF's ITACHI UCHIHA!"......on what he were surprised Sasuke and Kabuto._

_**Itachi admits his faults, but promises to tell Sasuke something after he's performed his Izanami. Kabuto is confident that he cannot be defeated since they can't kill him and because of the precautions he's taken to avoid genjutsu. He manipulates the cave to confine them and uses DNA to perform a variety of other ninja's long-range jutsu, trying to create an opportunity to access Itachi's head and regain control of him. Sasuke becomes increasingly earnest to kill Kabuto, but Itachi pleads for him to wait until Izanami is ready. **While Itachi and Sasuke deal with Kabuto's recreation of Orochimaru, Kabuto bisects Itachi.**** _

**  **

_"Uchiha's eyes have a power able to affect the enemy regardless of their 5 senses in exchange of losing their own light...".....on what Sasuke said"Izanagi!"_

" _It is not Izanagi. It is another one, that forms a pair with it. The ultimate eye jutsu that holds his destiny....Izanami!".......there he attacked Kabuto." If Izanagi is jutsu that change destiny, Izanami can decide it! If you want to know who you are you have to look at your real self and acknowledge what you see. I was not able do it, I lied to others and deceived even myself with my own lies. The ones who are not able to acknowledge their own selves are bound to fail like I did in the past!"".....that explain how jutsu works._

_**This creates a sensory loop independent of vision that traps Kabuto in eternal battle; that is Izanami. Kabuto has the chance of escaping Izanami by accepting the fate he now tries to fight by taking on others' powers, Itachi's gift to him because of their perceived similarities. Itachi's reincarnated body regenerates and he uses Sasuke's sword to cut off even more of the same horn as before.** _

  ** __**

_"As Uchiha Itachi of Konohagakure I will be able protect my homeland once more. I have no more attachments to this world. That is why stopping this jutsu is the least I can do now. To keep from slighting what I left in Naruto's hands!".........he raises the brille that cover Kabuto's eyes and uses a genjutsu to make Kabuto perform the hand seals that will end the Impure World Reincarnation._

__

 

**"Jiraiya is a technique for which you asked me before." ..... Itachi watched Jiraiya who followed every movement they played the main characters in living memory.**

**"Kabuto is good but compared to you ..... I'm glad I saw all this!" .... Jiraiya commented.**

**Next scene is to present was very stressful and they were watching silently, without comment.**

 

_"I can feel my consciousness fading little by little.....before we say farewell let me teach you about what you wanted to confirm. There is no need for me to lie anymore._

_The night I parted with you everything I did on that....was exactly how Danzou and Tobi explained it to you alow me ...to show you the wohl  truth." ....Itachi showed him the memory." I always lied to you, telling you to forgive me. I used these hands to keep you far, far away from me...I did not want you to get involved but now.......I think maybe...you could have changed father and mother...changed the Uchiha._

_If I would have faced you from the start, stood at the same viewpoint as you and spoke to you about the truth but I failed. And speaking to you now like this is not going to tell you anything. That is why I just wanted to show you the thruth, even just a little."_

_Last words to Sasuke after reincarnation: "If I had been open with you from the start… and looked you straight in the eyes and told you the truth, then I wouldn't have had to stand before you, from above, as a failure, telling you all of this. So this time, I want to impart this truth to you… You don't even have to forgive me. And no matter what you do from here on out, know this… I will love you always._ **"**

                                                                                                                              

 

**Here is Sasuke stopped with his memories signaling Inoichi to stop the jutsu: "I'm sorry but I would like to take a break!".**

**Hiruzen and all who were present realized how much Konoha made mistakes. Now when the truth came out, no one could say anything more they could only sympathize with two beings who were finally found.**

**Itachi could not get a word in, because he was under shock.  
**

**"You have already died at the hands of your own brother. Punishment is removed!" ...... Jiraiya embraced him: "It is time that you return the smile on his face!"**

**"We must not forget Kabuto.  It is obvious that under lies lost the right path. ....Orochimaru and Danzo ......and he is a victim. Now that does not have two of them we can change and his destiny." ...... Tsunade was thinking out loud.**

**Itachi approached Sasuke who stood thoughtful. "Sasuke I'm sorry!"**

**"Do not be, because each of our process leads to something good or bad, but I believe that there is always redemption, although once the price is too high. I've lost you once and I will not let you wander off into the darkness. I've been there too was, but Naruto was right next to me instead of you. H** **e did not give up on me, so I will not either of you. "......... itachi embraced him and said:" I have already told you you know, you're the only person I care about. "**

**"Sasuke you have a visitor!" ..... Itachi looked surprised at the small white fox, which is one standing in front of Sasuke.**

**"Naruto! Hahaha,he always surprises me .... probably he felt that something is happening with me!" ...... he bent down and picked up the little fox that had a message for him: "Keep it with you ! "**

**"You know Itachi, I would prefer that you see his memories. He .... unlike me saved Konoha from destruction. Nagato destroyed Konoha, there were many dead but Naruto managed to somehow persuade Nagato who returned dead in life. his light shines with warmth that easily touches the hearts of all of us! "..... Sasuke stroked fur little foxes that settled on his shoulder."I think the next memories will bring a lot of comments." ....... Sasuke laughed as he remembered the First Hokage.**     

 


	61. SETTLEMENT

_**Orochimaru leads him, Suigetsu, and south to the Naka Shrine and Konoha. There, Orochimaru releases the souls of the first four Hokage from the stomach of the Shinigami and then uses the White Zetsu spores that Sasuke was secretly planted with as sacrifices to reincarnate the Hokage.** _

 

**"For God's sake Orochimaru ....." ...... Hiruzen yelled.**

**"Grandpa .....!" ..... Tsunade had the same reaction as everyone present.**

**"But why Orochimaru pulled this off?" ..... Jiraiya muttered.**

**"The war here was the turning point. The Hokage of Konohagakure Tsunade, the Kazekage of Sunagakure Gaara, the Mizukage of Kirigakure Mei Terumi, the fourt Raikage of Kumogakure and The third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure Onoki lost the battle against the Madara. All five Kage they could say nothing against Madara.**

**He was invincible."......Sasuke explained.**

**"I can not believe, five cage are lost......".......participants were shocked.**

**"After he won he joined Obito who fought with Naruto and the rest of the army. Although they were united Obito kept them in stalemate position with until he came.".....this information is all hit them like a bolt from the blue........."HATE's bad!"......Sasuke whispered.**

**"Madara! "...... Hiruzen and others were outraged.**

**Sasuke released them some time to discharge, and then said:"Madara Uchiha .... is the great ninja, but that was not the Black Zetsu, Madara ....... he lost ....  
lies and deception and deceit are part of his regime, a system or planned way of doing things ..... he is guilty, but guilty .... is on everybody .... ninja world at that time he became hell! .........but one person .... managed to change ..... ninja world.....Naruto!"**

 

 

**"Sasuke thanks to this so vivid memories. I'm glad I can see my grandfather in this way!" ...... Tsunade had a smile: "Oh, I miss him!"**

**"He loved meeting new people, having friendly competitions, and gambling.".......Jiraiya laughed when he saw the pursed lips of Tsunade."Now we know who is to blame for your passion for betting!"**

**"Next time, I'll kill him, and even in the other world." ...... Tsunade said an angry voice, but he had a mischievous look.**

**"When he taken down in this way, or even when simply presented with information that troubled him, Hashirama could do a near-immediate about-face, going from laughing to sulking. These moping periods were typically brief though, and he'd quickly go back to his usual high-spirited nature.".......Hiruzen  remember Hashirama" Despite the first impression he may give, Hashirama was capable of being serious when it came to matters that were important to him. He spent years opposing the practice of sending children to war and dreamed of a shinobi system where a child could be around others his or her age, never needing to "grow up" prematurely on the battlefield.**

**He wanted the rest of the village to cherish what Konoha represented just as much as he did, encouraging them to regard every villager as part of one large family that should always look out for each other. As Hokage, his job was to protect that family at all costs, even if that cost was his life. This philosophy, known as the "Will of Fire", would become a cornerstone of Konoha teachings for decades after his death. I hope I get that part fail to convey to the younger generation."**

**"You need not worry about it, our generation understood the idea "Will of Fire"! "........Sasuke said quietly: "To the extent that goes beyond the normal sense."**

**"The Will of Fire is demonstrative of Hashirama's general optimism when it came to other people; he believed a village-first loyalty would naturally break down the mentality that shinobi had to look out for their clans.**

**He lived by this philosophy long before Konoha's founding, having no qualms about killing himself if it meant peace between the Uchiha and Senju clans. In fact, his entire goal of gaining more power was to have enough just to stop violence. One example of this was he believed if the two most powerful clans during the Warring States Period were to join forces, there would be no other shinobi clan to stand against them and would stop selling their services, effectively ending the Warring States Period. "......Hiruzen  remember.**

**"He always saw the best in others, either trusting that they acted in good faith or that they could, through non-violent means, be reasoned with in the same way as Naruto!** "....... **Sasuke notes at the end" He was even willing to take his own life if it would help create a world where his friends and family wouldn't need to die unnecessarily."**

 

 

**"I am at the time was in confusion. I was puzzled how Itachi could still be loyal to Konoha, which was thrown into a world of darkness, into the world of shadows. I wanted to find out first-hand answers to questions that have bothered me. Before I chooses which side to take in the conflict, I wants to know more about what Konoha is and also what it was intended to be, which may in turn help I understand the sacrifices Itachi made when he was alive. Each of the Hokage gives me their own thoughts on Konoha and the Uchiha and what they did while they were in office to reconcile the two, at times, opposing forces.  .... ....... he was conceived.**

**"Tobirama is the same as for life.He believed that, through well-defined rules and laws, many of the world's problems could be solved. In many ways he was a counter-weight to his older brother  ideals; when Hashirama would get carried away with his headstrong optimism, it fell to Tobirama to mediate and force a more realistic alternative in order to achieve those idealistic goals.**

**Hashirama was typically disappointed by Tobirama's intervention, but he usually agreed without much protest; on the rare occasions he disagreed, it was a sign that Tobirama's methods were becoming too forceful, creating a mutual balance. Tobirama likewise, despite how often he needed to undermine his brother and his personal opinion that Hashirama was something of an idiot, greatly loved and respected him, and if anything wanted Hashirama to respect himself the same way he and others did."......Hiruzen had a wistful look on his face when he recalls the past. All large were there before him.**

**"Tobirama was a firm believer in the Will of Fire — a philosophy that held that all villagers of Konoha were part of a family. Any who threatened Konoha were subject to his rarely-seen but unbridled rage. As Hokage, it was not only his responsibility to protect that family at all costs but also to encourage the disparate villagers of the same view: to move away from the idealism of only think about their clan and that they should think of the village as a whole.**

**Hashirama was too soft, whereas Madara was too ruthless. Learning from them, he tried to find a balance between Hashirama and Madara as he didn't have someone to balance him out, unlike his brother. " ......elder Hiashi said.**

**" Minato was a shrewd person, not one to do something without a reason. He was well aware of the terror his reputation inspired and rival villages and would take advantage of it at times, but even then he would remain respectful to opponents. Minato also would not pry into other people's personal affairs unless he felt it was necessary and was not the type to hold grudges.".......Jiraiya said as he best knew Minato as his student.**

**" Both have indomitable spirits and fierce ambitions that drive them through all their choices in life. Both are of unwavering loyalty to Konoha and their loved ones – friends and family – and that devotion inspires all those around them.".......Sasuke sums up.**

 

_**"After** f **rom listening to them, particularly the First Hokage, I decides that Konoha is worth protecting, as its destruction would only nullify everything that Itachi did in his life......".....Sasuke recognized that part of his plan, but ....."......**_ _**"Sasuke ...." .... Itachi looked at him quizzically.** _

_**"You know, hate is a really tough thing!.....Kakashi sensei's right, we all get lost on the way through life at one time is an illusion, but when you have the person next to you who is willing to put his life on the line for you ...... everything is possible!".........Sasuke wore a small smile.** _

 

                                                                                   

 

 


	62. THRESHOLD

_**With the exception of Naruto, all of Sasuke's former comrades, including Sakura, are angry and suspicious of his sudden arrival and demand an explanation. Sasuke replies he has decided to protect the village and he wants to be Hokage to change the current ninja system. When they retort that's impossible and remind him of his past actions, Sasuke says he understands why they can't forgive him but he doesn't care about that. Nevertheless, he joins forces with Naruto and Sakura, along with the original Rookie Nine. The now reunited Team 7 charges into battle, cutting through the Ten-Tails' army of clones.** _

 

_**Once close enough, Sasuke and Naruto combine efforts into the Scorch Release: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Style Zero, successfully damaging the Ten-Tails' arm. Naruto wants to free the captured tailed beasts but Sasuke prefers to let them burn.** _

 

**"Sakura and all our children are here on the battlefield!" ..... Shikaku cried.**

**"Those that are no longer children. In the short time they became powerful ninja and great fighters." .... Sasuke looked Shikaku.**

**"Sasuke I have one question for you: Where are the rest of us?" ..... Inoichi stop jutsu.**

**"Third Hokage is dead, Jiraiya is dead, you two are dead too, Neji is dead, Kurenai remained in Konoha ....." ..... here he paused and skipped "Asuma is dead, but Asuma, Jiraiya died before the war. Inochi and Shikaku after your brilliant conduct of the war a little before that you are dead and Neji. Obito and Madara are targeting your position and went they manage to eliminate you from the war. Neji fell on the battlefield protecting Naruto . "...... Sasuke gave them a brief explanation.**

**"Huh!" .... Jiraiya just uttered.**

**"I'm glad you gave us a chance to see the former Hokage to be fought with the young generation. I think you learn from them when it comes to a tactic of war. Madara and Obito were really fighters who are dangerous to have an enemy." ... ..Hiruzen be here in this place of imagine.**

**Kakashi all the time is no comment but was deep in his thoughts. Attendees watched the images that passed in front of them in disbelief. They could not even dream that if this war is to play for three years.**

 

_**Tobi (who is revealed to actually be Obito Uchiha) appears above the Ten-Tails shortly afterwards and starts performing a jutsu. Sasuke and the rest of the Allied Shinobi Forces try to stop him, but they fail and Obito becomes the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.** _

       

 

" **Uhhh**   **Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.".......at the memory all remained breathless.**

 

_**Sasuke allows the Hokage to attack Obito first, taking advantage of their immortal bodies to test Obito's new abilities. When the first three Hokage are quickly defeated, Sasuke prepares to join in with his Susanoo, but Obito'sTruth-Seeking Balls quickly pierce through it and Obito grabs both him and Naruto.** _

_**The Fourth Hokage rescues them and tries fighting Obito**   **on his own, but he suffers a defeat just like the other Hokage did. After regrouping, Sasuke and Naruto, with assistance from the Fourth and Second Hokage, use another attack on Obito and** **smile when they succeed in landing a direct hit. Although this attack actually succeeds in hitting Obito, they discover that his new body is impervious to most conventional forms of attack.**_

 

 

_**From testing with different jutsu, Naruto discovers that Obito is vulnerable to senjutsu. He and the Fourth exploit this weakness by entering Sage Mode and attacking. Seeing how strong Naruto has become, Sasuke grows jealous and angry.** _

 

 

**"Uh, Naruto learned Sage mode!" ...... Jiraiya had a smile: "He is really a child of Minato. The two of them are amazing! My two favorite students, I am really proud of them. "!"**

 

 

 

 _ **After he recovers, Obito recreates the God Tree's, tree in order to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan as w **ell as to decimate the Allied Shinobi Forces.**.** _

 

**"Damn it! It's not fair ...."...Kurenai said, in confusion:"It's not fair, without a fight ....".**

**"Now I understand your coming in this time that you change the past!" ..... Joraiya was sad "This is not the way to die especially for ninja!"**

 

_**As some Allied shinobi, including Naruto, start fearing that the battle is lost, Sasuke uses his Susanoo to cut through one of the tree's roots and berates Naruto for nearly giving up, which inspires Naruto to continue fighting. Sasuke then has Jūgo imbue his Susanoo with senjutsu chakra allowing him to assist Naruto in Nine Tails Mode in attacking Obito. Despite working together, Naruto and Sasuke attack separately, which Obito proves consistently able to avoid or block. Deciding **to combine efforts,**** ****Sasuke coats his Susanoo around Naruto'sTailed Beast Mode **increasing its offensive and defensive capabilities. With further assistance from the rest of the Konoha 11, they succeed in cutting Obito down and ultimately removing the tailed beasts from his body.**** **_

 

   

 

**"Yeah! Obito eat it!"......all cried out.**

**"This is rarely seen. All nine tailed beasts on the side of man."....... and our Naruto ....."..... Hiruzen was speechless.**

**"Sasuke, you will become ....." ..... Itachi wanted to say but .... memories are flowing like a river in spate.**  

**"Obito....... zašto?".......   Kakashi said quietly.**

**Kakashi sensei, I'll explain later why it is Obito ...... but at this time he is alive ..... if we can find ..... everything is possible .... "... ..Sasuke watched with attention to Kakashi: "Knowing Naruto, this is his next intentions .... confrontation with him .... haha Naruto and Obito ultimately have a lot in common!"**

 

_**Obito is unable to move after his defeat and Sasuke prepares to finish him off. Kakashi stops him and offers to deal with Obito himself sending Sasuke to help Naruto deal with Madara, who was fighting the First Hokage** _

   

_**B** **y the time he arrives there, however, Madara has been restored to life and has neutralised the First. Sasuke attacks him, but Madara dodges and asks that Sasuke join forces with him, impressed by his abilities. When Sasuke refuses, Madara advises that he stay out of his way or else he will die. Madara goes on to recapture the tailed beasts, including those sealed within Killer B and Naruto. As he prepares to revive the Ten-Tails and become its jinchūriki like Obito before him,** _

_**Sasuke attacks again but is caught in mid air by Madara. Having already warned Sasuke once, Madara stabs him in** **the chest**  _ **_with his own sword. Sasuke tries to get up, determined to not let Madara win and, in turn, let Itachi's memory be sullied, but he passes out as the life fades from him._  **

                                                                                    

**"Sasuke! Nooo ..." .... yelled Itachi and he rose to his feet.**

**"Itachi, calm down .... here intervened greater force, that is me and Naruto went back to life!" ..... Sasuke comforted Itachi.**

**"You want to say that he and Naruto was on the verge of death, though ....." ....... Kakashi yelled as Itachi.**

**"Madara and Black zetsu managed to squeeze out of him Kurama." ..... he just said.**

            


	63. DOUBLE-CROSSER

** **

_**On the edge of death, Sasuke is met by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the famed Sage of Six Paths**   **Hagoromo warns Sasuke about the Infinite Tsukuyomi that Madara is planning to use. Because Sasuke is the reincarnation of Indra, Hagoromo's oldest son, Hagoromo can give him half of his power that, in combination with the half he gives to Naruto (the reincarnation of Hagoromo's other son, Asura) will enable them to stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Sasuke agrees and receives the Six Paths Yin Power. He regains consciousness and finds that the damage to his body has been healed by Kabuto, who escaped the Izanami and now feels indebted to Itachi.** **Sasuke's left eye, meanwhile, has become a Rinnegan.**_

 

_**Sasuke releases Tobirama from Madara's restraints and has him teleport himself to Naruto's location.** _

 

**"Wow, the Sage of the Six Paths Hagoromo! .... This is neither of us..... we never expected to see Sage." ..... Jiraiya was excited as others.**

**"Naruto, he is the transmigrant of his younger son Asura and you are** **in possession of** **Indra's chakra.......huh, incredibly!"......Hiruzen said.**

**"A wise old man dividing his power evenly between the two of you, Hagoromo gives his chakra to Naruto and Sasuke. If he as God admits that he was wrong and he is trying to correct its mistakes .... why should not we!".......this opinion was by all present .**

 

_**Arriving as Naruto is facing Madara, Sasuke uses his Rinnegan to see Madara's invisible doppelganger. When Madara tried to steal Sasuke's left eye, Sasuke switched places with his sword, causing Madara to impale himself. While Madara recovers from the injury, Naruto and Sasuke attack from opposing sides in an effort to activate the seal given to them by Hagoromo. Madara escapes at the last moment and goes after Kakashi, taking his Sharingan. Sasuke catches up to Madara and bisects him, but he uses Kamuion his upper half to swap dimensions.** _

 

 

_**Sasuke is later surprised to see Sakura appear after Obito used Kamui to save her from Madara. Regrouping with Team 7 and unsure when he'll return, Sasuke warns the others to be on guard. While they wait, Kakashi remembers when his team first introduced themselves years ago and wonders what Sasuke's intents are now that Itachi is gone. When asked this, Sasuke doesn't reply and Kakashi doesn't push it because they have more things to worry about. Sensing Madara coming, Kakashi reminds them of Team 7's first lesson: the importance of teamwork.** _

 

**"Huh, importance of teamwork."......Kakashi said quietly.**

**"Wow, Sakura ..... she managed to conquer the Strength of a Hundred Seal."......Tsunade was surprised by what she saw.**

 

_**Do not confuse it with ninjutsu, which was made to create war!"Madara eventually returns with his other Rinnegan. Sakura launches the first attack and Sasuke follows close behind her. When she is stabbed by Madara's rode, Sasuke uses Chidori Sharp Spear to cut off the rode and allow Naruto to get her away. Sasuke sees four more Madaras and has naruto fight them While Madara moves into position to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi.  Madara rains numerous Chibaku Tense down on Team 7. Sasuke cuts through several with his Complete Body — Susanoo, but he isn't able to reach Madara in time to stop **the Infinite Tsukuyomi from being cast.**** _

 

_**Sasuke hurries back to Naruto and uses his Susanoo to shield him, Sakura, and Kakashi from the Infinite Tsukuyomi's effects ** **Naruto tries to go check on the others but Sasuke tells him to be patient. Sakura asks what is happening but Sasuke tells her and then Kakashi they don't need to know because there is nothing they can do and assumes leadership of Team 7 because he believes only he can stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi with his Rinnegan.**_

_****When they emerge, they find Madara has bound the world's population with** God: Nativity of a World of Trees and trapped them all within perpetual dreams. Madara confronts them and insists that he has ended all conflicts and that only Team 7, as the only remaining opposition, would seek to renew the cycle of death that plagued the world for centuries, which Sasuke retorts that Madara is disillusioned.** _

_**As he's talking, Madara is stabbed behaid from by Black Zetsuand his body is converted into Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, which leaves Team 7 shocked.** _

 

**"What's going on?" ...... they all asked.**


	64. ILLATION

**" Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!".............they all cried, as a surprise for them was great.**

**"Princess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki being reborn into the modern ninja world."......Hiruzen could not come to his senses.**

**"You have to win her .....Usagi no Megami ?" .....there are all decided to no longer comment because probably it will take place in front of them will not see to soon ..... at least they had hoped as they looked to Sasuke, Naruto is all of them was in his thoughts.**

 

_**Sasuke and Naruto recognise Kaguya from his meeting Hagoromo as the origin of chakra. Although she now has access to the chakra of those trapped within the Infinite Tsukuyomi, she wants Team 7's too, specifically Naruto's and Sasuke's. She transports them to one of Kaguya's Dimensions: a sea of lava**   **Sasuke summons Garuda to save himself and Naruto, ignoring Kakashi, Sakura, and an unconscious Obito Uchiha. Sasuke reminds Naruto that only they can stop Kaguya, and therefore what happens to the others doesn't matter.**_

_**Naruto understands, but he actually can't help but save them anyway, reminding Sasuke of when he saved him in the Land of Waves. Naruto engages Kaguya while Sasuke attacks from above with his Susanoo. Kaguya repels him and he nearly falls in the lava — he drops his sword and loses it to that fate — but he's able to teleport to safety with Amenotejikara.** _

_**While they try to come up with a way to place Hagoromo's seal on her, Kaguya sneaks up behind Naruto and Sasuke, paralyses them with Black Zetsu, and starts absorbing their chakra. Black Zetsu reveals its role in manipulating the Uchiha clan as part of its plan of resurrecting Kaguya, which** **angers Sasuke. Naruto breaks them free and distracts her with his Sexy Reverse Harem Technique**  _ **_which nearly allows them to initiate the seal_. **

 

**"Damn it, what is this?" ..... all cried when they saw Sexy Reverse Harem Technique .**

**"Hahaha, Naruto .... he is more my child than of Minato!" ..... Jiraiya was crying with laughter.**

**"For God's sake, he's not normal ...." ..... Tsunade is also laughing.**

**"This is a ordnance!" ..... Sasuke just said.**

**"Damn, you say that I am a good ninja but this exceeds all my techniques ...." ... Itachi did not believe their own eyes.**

**"I think I'll ask him to teach me this technique?" .... Guy said.**

**"This is of Konoha, new ordnance!" ..... Hiruzen took a deep breath at what everyone else even louder laughs.**

 

_**She shifts dmensions before they connect, encasing them in ice**. **Sasuke shatters the ice with Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi, only for Kaguya to then grab him and send him off by himself to a dimension of sand dunes.** **Sasuke wanders the dunes, finding the spot where Naruto's chakra signature is strongest. There, he is shortly afterwards found by Obito and Sakura, who with** **considerable effort are able to briefly open a portal between dimensions** **Sasuke uses Amenotejikara to teleport to Sakura's side by switching places with her flak jacket, catches Sakura as she is about to collapse from exhaustion, thanks her and Obito, and is then reunited with Naruto.**_

_**Frustrated that her attempt to separate them failed, Kaguya shifts to a **imension with powerful gravity, immobilising them while she kills them with her All-Killing Ash Bones. Kakashi shields Sasuke from her attack and Obito, in turn, shields Kakashi, being the only one to die. Sasuke forces himself up and nearly hits Kaguya with a** **Chidori, forcing her to shift dimensions to somewhere with normal gravity.**** _

 

 

 

**"Sensei Kakashi, Obito can be saved!".......Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "He eventually came to his senses, he realized all thanks to Naruto. Naruto is credited as he returned to the old Obito,"**

 

_**As Naruto stays with a dying Obito, Sasuke goes after Kaguya** **on his own.** **Sasuke uses Susanoo to fight her by himself until Naruto, done grieving for Obito, comes to join him. Naruto's Super Tailed Beast Rasenshurikendestabilises the tailed beasts' chakra within her, prompting her to create anExpansive Truth-Seeking Ball to destroy them all. With the end near, Team 7 mobilises for its final assault: Kakashi, u** **sing chakra received from Obito, pierces though her; Naruto, with additional help from Kakashi, uses shadow clones to exhaust her countermeasures; Sasuke teleports closer to her in order to initiate the seal;** _ **_Sakura punches her when she tries to escape. When both Naruto and Sasuke make contact with her, the tailed beasts are removed from Kaguya's body and she (as well as Black Zetsu) is entombed with the Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei._  **

 

_ha **ving been waiting for this, Hagoromo then summons them all back to the real world**   **with the help of the dead Kage and congratulates them for their victory. Madara has also been returned so Sasuke prepares to kill him, but Hagoromo stops him, explaining that Madara is dying anyway. After Madara shares his dying words with the First H** **okage, Hagoromo returns the** **Kage's souls to the Pure Land. Hagoromo also informs Naruto and Sasuke that they can release the world from the Infinite Tsukuyomi by simply joining hands.**_

   

                                                                           

  **"Obito is alive!"....... he tells himself." He’s alive! There’s no doubt, even if he has to call on every tracking team in the village and and among their allies to do it.** **Obito is alive, and that’s enough."......for now, that’s all Kakashi can think about, even more than the pain.**

**He closes his eyes against another wave, against a twisting, burning ache that tears at his very being, and hopes like hell that everyone hurries.**

**Not for himself. Not at all. But Obito is going through even worse, and Kakashi isn’t about to let his soulmate suffer, even if he has to drag himself out of bed and find the idiot personally.**

 

**Last memories have been a shock to the present and all looked to Sasuke.**

**The memories stop there, Sasuke there looked to Itachi: "Can you take me home,!"**

**"Hokage, I think this is enough for today." ..... Itachi is held in the arms of a younger brother with a proud attitude but he very much was concerned.**

**"He's free, anyway, we have to agree on the facts, I think we have a lot of material to talk about." ..... Hiruzen approached Sasuke: "Thank you!"**


	65. STONE INSCRIPTION

**Before you judge my life or my character...walk in my shoes, walk the path I have traveled, live my sorrow,** **my doubts, my fears, my pain, my laughter!!!**

**"...........!" ..... ...I am in the darkness of night I hear a cry full of pain as somebody calling.**

**"...........!" ........ through light I hear the cry of despair as somebody calling.**

**Both scream my soul into two parts break, "Why? Why do I hear these voices and who they calling?" ........I wonder.**

**I hear them constantly as an echo left in my memory somewhere in the past. The voices left in my memory is returning as an echo ringing constantly.**

**"Whom the Bell Tolls? . "....... my thoughts become dark and heavy.**

**I'm afraid that my crime was so difficult to me now ringtone calling to pay my debt. "..... the sound of bells from a distance I hear the rattling iron chains and feel how my body tightens bonds.**

**"Dong ... dong ... dong ......" .......jingling bells echoes.**

**"Tick ... tock ... tick ... tock !" ..... time is running out.**

**"Dum... dum... dum ... dum," ..... my heart catches the rhythm crazy.**

**Through the power of my mind I'm trying to throw the rattle of the bells, silence the clock ticking and my heart calm down while inside I'm looking for the key that unlocks my door past.**

**My memory is as deep as the deepest ocean, full of various beasts that lurk in the depths of patience. With the ocean floor bell ringing sad, and his incessant bell through dark water to the surface to break through and break from the sharp rocks. The sound breaks up into innumerable small bells.**

**At the sound of bells from the surface of the beast from the depths rises and on the shores of the ocean leaves its traces. Her tracks going in all directions as a guide to the life that I live is not easy but is intertwined paths leading in all directions. My past, present and future secret strands are connected.**

**Spook of my past called me to return to my debt to pay. When I pay my debt ghosts of the past, the demon depth will be gone and I will again be born.**

**The bell will not ring, the clock will not tick me, and my heart will shine in full splendor. And my strong body born again will terminate chains of iron and heavy chains force of will I throw away and the sound of the bells will be clear, cheerful and quick.**

**"Do I have the courage to jump the deepest ocean and dive to the bottom of the bell that I deliver? Do I have the courage to face the demon depth and defeat the beasts that lurk there? .... I do not know the answer, or at least I can try. "I plunge into the depths of my memory ready for everything, expecting everything, but at the cost of never being born."**

**The depth and darkness scare me or spark of light and of hope left in my past illuminates my way and I'm getting ready for everything. The light breaks the darkness of the deep, beasts that lurk me before the light is hidden, a demon before the light disappears. I'm freeing the bell and let him freely to the surface emerges.**

**On the surface no more sharp rocks but the surface the ocean is not calm. The storm rages and is in full swing. Waves as high as the highest mountain and the bell cast in all directions. The sound of the bells of alarm ringing.**

**Suddenly the wave crests are converted to white skirts and bell worn on the wings of the coast is thrown. The bell stopped, alert is stopped.**

**I emerge from the depths to the surface of the ocean that is now illuminated by sunlight. I'm going out to the coast tired and out of breath, but my body will deliver solar heat. My body is cooled down in the depths of the ocean absorbs heat so eagerly, my empty lungs filled with fresh air we breathe hungry and out of the country through my body new energy flowing and full of my used batteries that will again flashed brightly.**

**"Naruto, it's time to come home!" ...... voices that I heard cries that echoed in me were my voices are awakened suddenly and without warning: "It is time that we again raise the flag of peace!"**

**That night, when the wind rises to whisper through the treetops, when the moon sails between tattered clouds and casts its waxing light across the sleeping village, Naruto opens his eyes .**

**The air is trembling, shivering, singing. His blood feels like fire in his veins, like moonlight, like star-shine. He’s tense and trembling, ready to run, but run to rather than away.**

**Because there's a voice on the wind, not like the one he’s heard his whole life—me, he thinks now, with some surprise. Oh, it was always me, wasn’t it? I'm Uzumaki. Uzumaki is me—but something deeper, vaster, overwhelming as it crests the horizon like a wave and breaks over him with a soundless thunder. It’s a voice, but in the same way that the sun is a star—the word isn't nearly large enough to encompass all that it is.**

**"Come home!" ........ she whispers, and even that is enough to make Naruto cry out, clapping his hands over his ears. "Please, my child. I've waited so long."**

**And Naruto remembers. He remembers the way that the city sang beneath his feet, how it hummed and whirred and buzzed with life, spoke without words and felt alive around him. As a child and a man and then more than ever as Uzushiogakure , and it spoke to him. She spoke to him.**

**Uzushiogakure is calling him home:"It is time! .....I swear, even if it takes everything I have, I will make Uzushiogakure a name that all will know.”**

**When Naruto left the room he went to meet with Gaara at Uzushiogakure led by her to come home.**

**He looks out from their place high atop one of the surrounding hills, down past dull-brown debris, and somehow that feels like the biggest tragedy of all. Uzushio was always a bright city, red and gold and white, touched with Whirlpool Country’s colors of sky-blue and dove-grey. Now there's little of that left, only a few scattered chunks of bright red roof tiles, a handful of spots of badly faded and tarnished gilding.**

**A shoulder bumps his, a soft and glancing touch but still enough to knock Naruto out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Gaara at his side, staring out over the ruin. His mouth is a tight line, the only crack in his indifference, but Naruto is…glad for it. Glad to show him something besides blood that gains some sort of reaction. Gaara needs to feel, to understand. He’s shut himself off for too long, and that can't be anywhere near healthy.**

**“This is to be our home?”....... Gaara asks, tone inscrutable.**

**Naruto can't tell if he’s disappointed or indifferent or simply stating a fact."** **It will be,” ......Naruto says at length, brushing his fingers over one deeply carved seal.**

**It sparks with life at the fleeting touch, a touch of chakra that sets it to glowing. There's a sharp snap, a crackle, and the spark of golden chakra leaps away to the next barrier stone, bringing it to life as well before it continues onward like chain lightning. Naruto watches it disappear into the distance, pausing to follow it with his senses. Uzushiogakure is a large city, but even so, he can feel the awakening rush of the outer fortifications, seals designed to keep out anyone not specifically invited in by a citizen of Uzushiogakure.**

**At the very edge of the rubble, he stops and drops to one knee, shifting a few chunks of stone out of the way to reach a curved section of pillar, thick and intricately carved. He runs his hand over it, then glances up, looking for the others like it that should be nearby.**

**“These are the structural supports laid into every main building in each district. Theoretically, if we can get to the keystone, and provided I'm not forgetting something important in how the founders originally made this place, I should be able to…call the buildings back together, more or less. Only the main ones, but it will be a start.”....** **Naruto goes to his knees, pressing his palm against the cool, damp earth, and breathes out.**

**Naruto breathes out, feeling hope and optimism rising up within his chest like bubbles of effervescent light. Right. Because Uzushiogakure has been destroyed once, but she’s still here, still living and waiting and holding on to her faith that he—Naruto, can make things better. Make things right. He’s all but promised her that he will, just like he promised that he would make Uzushiogakure into something great.**

**"** **Uzushiogakure’s heart lies deep beneath the earth, heavily protected with seals and barriers."........Naruto looked up at Gaara and said: "It is time to dive!"**

**Two of them jumped into the water seeking an underwater cave. Guided by her, they came to the cave and enter into it. Barrier closes behind them.**

**"She is waiting for me!" ...... Naruto said excitedly.**

**Naruto is alone as he walks down the long corridor, lit only with the blue light from the marks on the wall. "Gaara, wait for me, because I have to do this alone!** **Only I knows the secrets of this place. I have to keep a promise."**

**Naruto runs his hand along the wall, setting the seals to blazing before they resettle with a soft crackle. Still intact, the entirety of this place, only words carry the secret, words and a single, impossibly well-protected document in the Uzukage’s office. Nothing else, for circumstances just like this.**

**Three more steps, another brush of his fingers over the carvings in the stone, and the doors at the end of the corridor swing open under their own power, as quiet as a whisper.**

**The chamber beyond them is small, twelve paces across at most, a circular room with a pale floor engraved with hundreds of names.**

**The keystone itself is unremarkable, a hexagonal piece of marble carved with a series of interlocking seals, all of them deceptively simple. But Naruto can feel the thrumming, throbbing power of it, this simple chunk of stone, and he crosses the room without pause or fear, and Uzushiogakure whispers eagerly around him.**

**He drops to his knees, sinks his teeth into his thumb until he draws blood, and smears it across the seals without hesitation.**

**“Come home,Uzushiogakure has lain in ruin for too long. If you’ve ever sought a land of your own, a place for freedom, for safety, come home. Uzushio is waiting.” ....he pauses, and unbidden a small smile crosses his face.**

**“ Welcome home, my dear boy! "........he heard her whisper.**

**Chakra flares, a blinding rush, and Naruto closes his eyes. He can feel it in his bones, beneath his skin. Can feel the surge and rush as old seals flare to life, called back together by blood and chakra and Uzushiogakure’s will. They're reassembling, rising, buildings and roads and arches, structures long since reduced to chunks of stone and piles of rubble standing up once more as the seals burned into them return them to how they should be.**

**Naruto opens his eyes and grins, because he can feel it in his very soul, Uzushiogakure’s cry stretching out across the length and breadth of the Elemental Countries, seeking those who bear the blood contained within this chamber.**

**"You're free! You call your children at home!"........Naruto whispered softly.**

**Like an echo, like light, like dawn breaking over hills and thunder rumbling between mountain peaks and ripples spreading across still water, Uzushiogakure's voice rolls across the land.**

**“ Phoenix is released! ...You're ready?.”........ he asks Gaara, who touches the side of his gourd and nods once.**

**Naruto offers him a smile, as bright and brave as he can make it, and closes his eyes, letting the outside world fall away.**

**And Naruto laughs, bright in the soft darkness, and steps forward towards his personal demon—his hope for the future, for his people’s future—with a smile.**

**"Not yet. I still have some things put in order!" .........he made a barrier and Uzushiogakure once again fall asleep.**

 


	66. MINATO

**When Naruto returned from Uzushiogakure in the apartment was Sasuke and Itachi.**

**"Hi, you two. How did it read your mind?" .... Naruto Sasuke approached: "Do not worry, everything is in the past!" ...... Naruto looked at him straight in the eye.**

**"I know, but ...." .... he wanted to say but he stopped Naruto. "Sasuke, do not .... ahh ... well too bad you're not a young girl but ...." ..... . he bent down and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  
**

**Itachi just shook his head: "We're lucky, but ... well, your children would be a masterpiece!"  
**

**Sasuke and Naruto was looking at him as if he had fallen from the sky but he has them put a bug in his ear. The two of them were watching and they were lost in their imagination while they Itachi closely watched.**

**"As the two of them are seen as they were in love?" ...... jerked them voice of Kakashi.**

**"Um, hey, Kakashi sensei!" .... the eyes of Naruto to shine on what Itachi gasped"Kakashi ...." .... Itachi looked at him quizzically.**

**"I like him!" ..... Kakashi blurted.**

**""Huh, do you like him?" ..... now they startled with voice of Jiraiya.**

**"Well, why are the doors?" ..... Sasuke wondered.**

**"What if there is a chance for me to become a woman?" ...... Naruto will suddenly what them left speechless.**

**"We do not mind!" ..... they all said in unison.**

**""Well, I'll think about that idea!" ..... Naruto smiled at their astonishment.**

**""Naruto, you're not angry as few of them as react?" ..... Jiraiya tossed him a concerned look,**

**"Nop, I'm not a kid anymore!" ..... Naruto looked at them,**

**"Ah, that Hiruzen has a question for you guys. We'll see you in the morning. By!" .... Jiraiya disappear in a cloud of smoke.**

**"The two of you in large quantities changed things. The question is what will happen when the time comes for your real return?" ...... Itachi was concerned. "Hiruzen and others have taken action to none of us forget what happened but what ..... there is always a but .... "**

**"That's what we're going to think when the time comes ...." ..... Naruto and Sasuke were conceived.**

**The next morning, the two of them were at the Hokage. In the room were present and others.  
**

**"Uh ..... something is wrong?" ...... they both asked.**

**"Everything is okay. We have made all the preparations for your arrival at the right time but has another outstanding issue!" ...... them views Hiruzen through half-closed eyes.**

**""What unresolved issue?" ..... Sasuke asked.**

**"This is not your first time in the past ..... you've already been in the past ..." ..... Hiruzen watched them carefully.**

**"We are but happened by accident!" ..... Naruto is now looking at Hiruzen.**

**"The two of you met your parents ..... we already had the chance to change the the past but your father Minato ..... we do not know what happened to the end ..... our memories are deleted from a particular point ...... why Minato did it .... when he had the most reason to change the past. "...... Hiruzen did not draw his gaze with them.**

**"No problem Inoichi can see our memories. We're not hiding anything!" .... Naruto looked at them all in a row: "It's probably a reason why my father has not changed the past or something happened by chance as it was accidental our arrival . "....... Naruto is thinking hard.**

 

_**Memory** _

 

_**"** _ _**They will come back in the future? You think I will not see him any more?" .... Minato face becomes sad.** _ _**  
** _

_**"Yes, only I do not know if they are returning in the future or the past." ... he thought deeply.  
** _

_**Minato quietly left the office. Minato hurried through the corridors. His head was filled with thoughts. He will not see Naruto.  
"No ... No ... Naruto should not go." ... he muttered under his breath as he shook hands firmly. "..." I have to keep him here.  ".... his face clouded.** _

_**The blond man decided to sit on a large rock on the cliff of the hill above Konoha. He could see the village in plain view, enjoying a quiet rural atmosphere, very different from his feelings now, which were a mixture of anger, jealousy and disappointment. Really uncomfortable.  
** _

_**"Minato, you are a little sad?" ..... he wakes up when he heard behind him an unfamiliar voice.  
** _

_**Minato quickly grabbed Kunai and turned in the position ready to attack. Before him stood an old man with completely white hair and furrowed face and he relaxed.  
** _

_**"Who are you?" ... he asked the old man.  
** _

_**"It does not matter who I am! It's what you want Minato and I'll give you a chance to do were realized." ... the old man did not move across the floor, but as he hovered.  
** _

_**"What do you mean?" .... he looked at him and noticed his eyes, "Sharingan? Uchiha? ..."...he was confused.  
** _

_**"You want to Naruto remains with you. You can do it to achieve with my help." ".... on the lined face appears naughty smile.  
** _

_**"To realize my wish?" .... Minato began to wear off easily.  
** _

_**Madara is seen to Minato hesitates and he went on the offensive. "I understood everything Minato, Naruto you want next to you, but for a small share. I know all about Konoha, even your feelings." .... Madara strain of trying to move forward, but Minato swung his Kunai.  
** _

_**He kept his word. "I can help curb Naruto at the moment."  
** _

_**"W-what? How do you know?" .... Minato tried to find out more.  
** _

_**"Did not I already said that I know everything? I know all of Konoha, about your wife, and also of the Kyuubi." ..... Madara again in a calm voice.  
** _

_**Minato did not like it:"What do you want with the Kyuubi?" .... Minato asked bitterly.  
** _

_**"Oh, do not worry, I'm not at all interested in Kyuubi now. All I want is your happiness and I can make it happen." .... Madara said. "I will keep my word and I'll help you keep Naruto here under one condition." ... "Madara chuckled:" ... Give me strength. "  
** _

_**Minato's eyes widened: "The power? What do you mean?"  
** _

_**"You have a unique chakra, Minato, and I want it. Just a little chakra will not hurt you, right? After all that's all you can have Naruto." .... he said, full of sweet words.  
** _

_**"Did I really can keep Naruto here?" ..... Minato thought for a moment and he accepts the deal.  
** _

_**"You can have Naruto for themselves." ..... Madara was answered with a throaty chuckle but Minato was already influenced by sharingan.  
** _

_**The sound of the explosion, which suddenly heard, the atmosphere in the room which was comfortable replacing the tension. Naruto immediately turned his head toward the window intently. They saw a cloud of black smoke coming from the direction of the building Hokage.  
** _

_**"Something's going on?" .... Kushina was very worried.  
** _

_**Seeing that his mother panicked "What is it, Mom? You look pale."  
** _

_**Kushina clutching the window he said quietly."Minato ..." .... her lips muttered quietly.  
** _

_**"Ha?" ... Naruto felt it includes a cold sweat, "Dad!"  
** _

_**"This chakra is of Minato." .... her voice trembled "Chakra is too strong and very dark."  
** _

_**"What do you mean, Mom?" .... he grabbed her hands that were trembling.  
** _

_**"I do not know, but it is very strange. Minato will not release such a strong chakra, if not in a state of emergency.".... she explained:"Minato is in danger but also Konoha."  
** _

_**" What does that mean?" .... Sasuke asked quickly.  
** _

_**She covered her mouth: "Oh no, if chakra further increase Minato will die!"  
** _

_**"Then, I'll stop it." .... Naruto did not wait a moment, "Mom do not worry, I will return my dad alive."  
** _

_**"But, Naruto, it is very dangerous. What would happen if ..." .... he interrupted and said, "Mom, if I do not save my dad now, I will not be born. Mom, do not worry." .... he gently kissed her cheek.  
** _

_**"We will succeed, Kushina chan! I will not let anything happen to him." .... Sasuke said with a smile: "He can do all that others can not. Trust in him Kushina chan!"  
** _

_**Kushina bit her lower lip, hesitating: "Naruto, please come back ....." Naruto had a wide smile, full of enthusiasm and optimism. "I will not withdraw of my words, Mom, that's my ninja way, dattebayo." .... he said as he jumped through the window, and Sasuke for him.  
** _

_**The red-haired woman gently smiling. "So, Sasuke ... I'm sure you'll do anything for him because you love him but hide it so well! You two are two Super idiot." .... she** _ _**then called out to them: "Be careful, Naruto, Sasuke."** _

_**Naruto pulled up on the roof and he was staring at the place where he was Hokage building. Around him are the citizens of Konoha fleeing away from the area. He saw Anbu to try to get into the semi-circular dome that covered the area around the building Hokage.  
** _

_**"What is it? Barrier ...." ..... Sasuke wondered after he saw the blast area. Houses were destroyed, trees collapsed and the ground was at a crossroads, "Minato is really screwed up!"  
** _

_**"I do not know for sure, but it seems that my father used too much chakra. But who has set the barrier? No one can enter into it!"  
** _

_**"Then what do we do?".....asked Sasuke agreeing with him.  
** _

_**"Naruto, Madara is with him!" .... Kurama said suddenly.  
** _

_**"Madara?" .... Naruto and Sasuke groaned.  
** _

_**"Where is Tsunade bachan, third Hokage and Shikaku?!" .... Naruto was increasingly worried.  
** _

 

 **Inoichi interrupted jutsu visibly surprised and confused: "For God's sake!" .... he cried.**  

**"What's wrong?" ..... Hiruzen quickly asked Inochi.**

**"I do not know but this is no longer Naruto and Sasuke from our memories, they are now a much different and more adult. How is it possible that the memories overlap?" ..... no one understood.**

**"This is the very picture of Naruto and Sasuke from the future!" ..... Inoichi says and he continued with jutsu.**

 

_**"Naruto, what happens?" .... Kakashi is leapt to them.** _

_**"Madara has my father!" .... Naruto said quickly.** _

_**Naruto was thinking what to do: "We have to somehow break the barrier! I will go into Kyuubi mode." .... he was concentrated, and flashed around his body yellow chakra.** _

_**"Sasuke ...".... Naruto is without looking asked for help from Sasuke, "I need your eyes to pass through the barrier."** _

_**Sasuke activated his Sharingan and Rinnegan. He looked up at the light green barrier.** _

_**"There!" .... he pointed to the left side of the barrier: "There is cracked! We can break through the barrier."** _

_**"Nice!" .... all four fly to the barrier, Chakra below the barrier was too strong.** _

_**"Naruto your father and Madara are in the basement."....Sasuke feel strong chakra "Naruto, he has Rinnegan!" ....gave him a warning.** _  
_**Slipped into the Hokage building, which was empty again they heard the explosion that destroyed the right side of the building. Put them was free and soon the billing-to-door in the basement where they were Minato and Madara. They opened the door slightly and saw Minato lying on the altar, while the Madara of it takes chakra.** _

_**"Foolish man, who wants to keep son beside him. Minato very stupid of you, but my little joke was a success. If you die now Minato, Naruto will not be born, but it now ... I need to kill him this time, hahaha". .. suddenly stopped when he felt two strong chakra: "Well, it appears we have intruders Minato!"** _

_**Madara opened the second dimension and disappear, and the earth beneath them trembled and the place where they stood kick off slowly sink.** _

_**"W-what's going on? Why is the area began to sink?" .... he asked in a panic.** _

_**"There's no time for questions, Dobe." ....Sasuke was concentrated following chakra of Madara "Madara seems to have a plan for this whole area will collapse."** _

_**"Collapse? What does that mean?" ... Naruto asked.** _

_**"Just as I suspected, Madara wants to prevent that we can not interfere with his plan. If you do not quickly get out of here and we will remain trapped below ground.** _

_**Madara switched into another dimension." ... Sasuke explained.** _

_**"I'll take care of Minato, you go into Sage Mode, and I'll open the portal to another dimension. When I get out there Minato I'll come for you. Hang on until I get there." ....** **Sasuke said.** _

_**"Very good Naruto! Welcome to the required dimension." .... Madara chuckled.** _

_**"What's funny Madara? What are you planning?" .... Naruto was in full combat mode.  
** _

_**"It is very stupid of you, but what else to expect. You have no chance against me alone. I am planning .... hahaha say rule the world." .... Naruto did not like his laughter,** **because something else is at stake.** _

_**"Hmph! Ridiculous." .... Naruto wanted to gain time.  
** _

**_"Hahaha, I do not have to do anything, it will make Minato." .... Madara had a grim face._  
**

_**"What you did Minato?" .... Naruto looked at the man in front of him with hatred.  
** _

_**Madara make grin before he answered: "I'm just helping him, that he can vent his emotions, did not do anything to him just a little chakra changed. I took half of his chakra and my little put in his, and again returned to his body. I can say that he is now a very powerful martial weapon. "  
** _

_**"What? How? Why do you want to do that?" .... he was furious with the old man.  
** _

_**"Of course, that I have controlled the world and to have some fun along the way!" .... he answered calmly.  
** _

_**"Having fun?" ... Naruto was in shock.  
** _

_**He walked slowly toward him and said, "You know, I could see the fear in the Minato and that's why I gave him the strength."  
** _

_**"Minato is strong enough. He does not need your help." ....Naruto answers.  
** _

_**"Do not be a hypocrite, Naruto. Everyone has fears, so too Minato." ... he stopped right in front of him. "He was afraid to lose you, so I helped him to get rid of fear." ... he added.  
** _

**_"Minato .... feared ... why?" .... he asked quickly._  
**

_**"He was afraid that he would lose you. That's why I gave Minato power to exempt him from all the people who represent obstacles on the way to you, including a young** **man named Sasuke and Kakashi."** _

_**Naruto's eyes widened. "No way ... that means Minato and Sasuke now ....Kakashi."  
** _

_**"Yes, you're right." .... Madara smiled: "They are fighting now."  
** _

_**"Minato san!" ... he cried.  
** _

_**Minato is rapidly attacked Sasuke and knocking him to the wall. He winced when he got up.  
** _

_**"What are you doing?" ... tried to talk but interrupted cough.  
** _

_**However Minato did not answer, he looked at him with his blurred sight. Minato strongly groaned when he saw Sasuke ahead. Bright blue eyes had turned in a red color.  
** _

_**Chakra that had Minato was warm as it was at Naruto, but now it has taken on a shade of black, cold as his chakra: "Damn! ..." ... Sasuke's cursed. "... It seems that the Madara something have done with the chakra of the Minato."  
** _

_**Sasuke had a grim face, "Madara ... I'm sorry ... I had to choose Minato, because that he has died, Naruto would not been born ..... I'm sorry!"  
** _

_**Sasuke is with laminate went into another dimension. Immediately he moved away from the Minato, because he struck back. Sasuke pulled his katana. Minato was traveling the speed of light. But now his chakra was dark and he was like a shadow. Sasuke was grateful that he has sharinnegan, would not otherwise be able to see the movements of the Minato.  
** _

**_"Minato san , stop, Naruto is in danger. He is alone with Madara." .... Sasuke tried to bring him to consciousness but was in vain._  
**

_**Minato throw Kunai to Sasuke, which he also quickly avoided making sure that he did not fly into the trap. On the way sought a weak point of the past. "Damn it, there must be something ....." .... he thought intently for a way out.  
** _

_**Minato was angry: "Sasuke, Naruto will stay here with me. You will not go back ..." ... Minato yelled.  
** _

_**"Damn Minato, it is the intention of the Madara. You're in his hands like a puppet. He will kill Naruto. Naruto is a Jinchuriki." ... Sasuke did not have time, because Minato already been brought against him.  
** _

_**Sasuke defend against attacks but Minato was unstoppable. He is received a blow to the lungs and in his mouth flooded the blood, which has created a sensation in the face of Minato. Sasuke was in a precarious position, had few ways to stop Minata but all were unfavorable. Minato had to stay alive.  
** _

_**"There is no way to stop Minato, Naruto." ..... Madara was talking loudly.  
** _

_**You have to kill him so he can become aware. But, would Sasuke do that? "... he looked towards Naruto with evil grinning.  
** _

_**"Sasuke will not kill Minato!" ... Naruto clenched his hands tightly.  
** _

_**"He must have a way to save him ...!" .... again he said.  
** _

_**Madara snorted scornfully as he raised an eyebrow. "Really? If Sasuke wants to live, he has to kill Minato."  
** _

_**"SILENCE!" ... Naruto yelled wildly.  
** _

_**He jumped forward and tried to hit Madara. He is swung with his Gunbai Uchiwa and disappeared into another dimension to it again appeared behind Naruto .  
** _

_**"Why are you stubborn, Naruto? Join me!" .... quietly and calmly said.** _

**_"Silence, JERK! I do not want to hear such nonsense!" .... Naruto turned and swung to hit him but he disappeared again._  
**

_**"If now I kill Madara, I will not have to fight with him in the future!" .... Naruto decided on an all or nothing, "Madara," ... he cried and went into the Tailed Beast Mode.  
** _

_**Madara was stunned when he felt a strong chakra that was much stronger than had Hashirama. Madara tried to open another dimension but the movement is too slow. Naruto is the first to stand before him and before he could blink.  
** _

_**Madara take for defense use Susanoo and he create chakra chains "Hahaha Naruto, you've forgotten that you are Jinchuriki!" .  
** _

_**At this point in their dimension enters Fugaku, Tsunade, the third Hokage, Sasuke as Minato who carried a Kushina.  
** _

_**"Thank kami we arrived on time!" .... Sasuke immediately use Amaterasu and Susanoo.  
** _

_**"See you the young warriors!" .... Madara disappears, because he used the disorder in dimension.  
** _

_**"Naruto, help your mom. She saved me from Minato." .... Naruto was free and in a panic occurs mom who was bleeding heavily.** _

_**"Tsunade bachan ..." ... she shook her head.  
** _

_**"I'm sorry, Dad!" .... Naruto ducked to the mother's body, using the seal of the Uzumaki clan undo the seal that held nine tails in the body of Kushina.  
** _

**_At the same time around it to create a strong warm, golden chakra that with his body transferred to the mother's body._  
**

_**The released chakra of the nine tails from Kushina be placed in Naruto: "Mom you're going to live but nine tails no longer exists at this time." .... under him appears the vortex that swallowed him: "Sasuke ..." ... he stretched out his hand, but that was all.  
** _

 

**Hiruzen thought and said: "The first time you two have come in the past accidentally. Konoha was in danger of Madara and Minato made the seal" Metsu "to erase this event from our memories like that did not happen.**

**But you're on the other time came the same accident or you come to a moment when that event played out and changed're already past** **but now you're back with the permission and the question is what will happen wh** **en the time comes of your arrival? We can only wait and see what happens. Time your real arrival is near. Use this time wisely! "".......at that point of view Naruto caught sight of Hiruzen which is slightly widened his eyes and smiled.**

**"How?"..... Naruto and Sasuke were asked while Naruto had smile on his face as Hiruzen.**

**"I suppose it happened the same as the first time when you came by accident in the the past. After your last conflict occurred as the first time. The explosion opened a dimension and you are already here back in time without the influence of Hagoromo. Probably explosion affected the time in the past. The whirlwind that pulled you, it is likely you back to the start site as well as Naruto and Sasuke who came for the first time in the past.  
**

**This could explain the overlapping memories. Now the question is what will happen a third time? "**

**"Valley of the End!"............**


	67. VACATION

**When they have resolved things in Konoha, Jiraiya took Naruto on a little vacation. Path led them to the Land of Waves.**

**"Let me get this straight,"...... Naruto groaned. "For the fifteen days, I can only use the kawarimi no jutsu, a basic bushin no jutsu, and the henge?"**

**"Those are the only ninjitsu you may use, yes... outside of what I'm going to teach you by the way.,".......Jiraiya acknowledged. "You can learn water-based techniques  and use them as much as you want. Any wind element techniques would be okay as well, as well as any lightning based techniques  but I don't know many of those and I don't think you do either."**

**"No," .....Naruto admitted.**

**"Stop shouting, Naruto if there's one thing I'm going to teach you before this training trip is all over, it's not to give yourself away by shouting all the time," .....Jiraiya complained. "That's why I'm teaching you a water technique to make up for it."**

**"Am I going to learn water clones?".... Naruto asked, not sounding quite as enthusiastic as he usually did when learning a new technique. "I suppose they could substitute for the kage bushin, but I don't think they'd be a real improvement. Isn't the point of this trip for me to get better techniques, not to learn a thousand different ways to do exactly the same thing?"**

**"Okay. Now, let's talk about a jounin-level water element technique you can learn while we're still here. It has limitations  it can only be used near water, for example but I think you'll find it quite powerful. You might possibly manage to use it as a counter to some of the less powerful Uchiha fire element techniques....".....Naruto's enthusiasm seemed to return as he grinned. "Okay I **like this** ! Now we're getting somewhere! What technique is it?"**

**"The water dragon technique. Now, let's head on over to that lake and I'll demonstrate it I'm sure you've seen it, before, but pay close attention to which seals I use."......."Okay!" ......Naruto agreed.**

**Going very slowly, and using the minimum possible amount of chakra to perform the technique, Jiraiya formed the seals. "Suiton Suiryuudan no jutsu!"**

**Looking rather lethargic due to the low power put into it, a moderately-sized dragon formed out of the water and started thrashing around. It lasted for only a few seconds before collapsing.**

**Naruto scratched his head. "Looks pretty weak,"**

**"That's as weak as it can get," ......Jiraiya agreed. "To be effective, you need to use about the same amount of chakra as you use to form ten kage bushin clones, though you can produce a weak one like that with just six kage bushin's worth of power. I didn't want to use full power for the demonstration  it might have distracted you from the seals. Now, did you see all of them?"**

**Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I think I got it. Looks easy enough I might even manage to get this technique down by my birthday!"**

**Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Birthday?"**

**"I turn fourteen soon," ........Naruto explained casually, forming seals. "Suiton -- Suiryuudan no jutsu!"  
**

**There was a large splash, but little else.**

**Jiraiya huffed. "You need to consciously shape the water into a dragon, and then control it the same way you control a bushin or kage bushin. Fourteen, eh? Interesting time in a boys life."**

**"Suiton Suiryuudan no jutsu!" .......this time, the water recognizably turned into a dragon, but it fell apart before it could finish the transformation. "Why do you say that? I'm really just going to be a few days older then I am today."**

**"Close, but you have to hold it better. Ah, yes, but the age of fourteen is when a lot of your friends will be married," .....Jiraiya explained. "That Hyuuga boy you fought in the Chuunin exam Neji, I think it was  would have been married already if he wasn't a member of the branch family who was constantly away on missions as a shinobi. Unless she's out on a mission right now, that Hinata girl will probably be married when she turns fourteen, too. Also, had Sasuke's clan survived, he would be getting married around this age, as well... and don't be surprised if you find that several other of your friends are married before you get back."**

**The reason why those people get married so early is obsolete, nowadays about forty years ago, fourteen years old was the age at which kunoichi would begin training as courtesans, since their missions often involved posing as prostitutes." A wistful look appeared on his face. "I wish I'd had a chance to face puberty in a time like that, when all of the kunoichi would... ahem! Anyway, nowadays it is forbidden for courtesan training to begin until twenty, so most kunoichi are already married by then. The law now only forces any unmarried kunoichi still chuunin rank or lower into courtesan training. Most parents of kunoichi nowadays allow their children some freedom to make their own decisions before they start trying to force the issue, but a number of the more powerful clans in Konoha have kept the 'marry by fourteen' tradition going."**

**"Huh. Well, I'm not going to have to worry about that." ........he looked down briefly, hiding his eyes from view. "It's not as if any of the other villagers would want to arrange me in marriage to anyone, anyway."  
**

**Jiraiya sighed, fearing he had touched too sore a subject. I have to boost this boys spirits, somehow he's already forgetting how many people he has managed to win the friendship and respect of. Oh, I know  the perfect thing for a boy about to turn fourteen.".......he grinned. "Tell you what, Naruto  if you can master this technique by tomorrow, I'll get you the best birthday present you'll ever have gotten!"**

**Naruto's eyes widened. "A birthday present? I've never had a birthday present, before! All right, let's get this thing mastered: Suiton -- Suiryuudan no jutsu!"  
**

**The largest, most powerful water dragon Jiraiya had ever seen leapt out of the lake or rather, since just about all the water had been drained into the dragon, the once lake  and did a few back flips of joy before returning to the pond. "**

**That was... decent," .....he commented, trying to keep the boys ego from swelling up too much.  
**

**"Yahoo! All right now, what's my birthday present? Huh? Huh?" .......Jiraiya swallowed. "Um, Naruto... you don't get your present until your birthday, you know. That's why it's called a birthday present."**

**"A brothel? You're taking me to a brothel for my birthday?" ....Naruto snorted. "Geez I shouldn't have gotten so worked up! I'm just fourteen what do I care about a brothel, anyway? Besides......"**

**"Shut up, kid. I'm paying a lot for you this is a very high class place," ......Jiraiya countered. "Fourteen is old enough in Konoha. I would have loved being sent to a place like this when I was your age!"**

**"You're a pervert, though,"....... Naruto pointed out.**

**"I'm the greatest pervert of all time, and don't you forget it!"...... Jiraiya, uh, bragged. "But that's not the point. Kid, it's better for a guy to be more experienced then the girl, anyway, first time. Otherwise......"  
**

**"Shut up! I don't want this birthday present, after all, ero sennin, so......" ........  
**

**"Too late,"...... Jiraiya grinned. "I've already paid for it. You might as well take it really, it's okay."  
**

**A lovely young woman, who looked to be about five years older than Naruto, approached them. "Is this the client?"...... she asked the perverted hermit.**

**"That's him. He's a bit reluctant, but it'll be good for him." .........the woman grinned. "Okay, I understand. The younger ones are always a little nervous, the first time, and they all react differently to the situation." ........she placed a surprisingly firm grip on Naruto's shoulder and gently said, "Come on, young man. I promise, you will enjoy this very much."  
**

**"But,  hey!" .....Naruto tried to resist, but he couldn't escape from being dragged into a room by the girl without hurting her. He didn't want to hurt anyone except perhaps a certain perverted master of his and the girl was just doing what she had been paid to do, after all.**

**Finally, she closed the door behind her and sat the two of them on a bed.**

**"Relax I've been trained for breaking in virgins. It's no big deal,"...... the prostitute said soothingly, reaching out and pulling down the zipper of Naruto's jacket before his hand came up and caught it half way.  
**

**"I don't want to do this," .......he said.**

**The girl was surprised at his strength, but not by too much. She knew he was a homeless genin ninja, so he obviously must have had some training in fighting. She had her own skills, however, and she had been paid well to use them.  
**

**"I understand. You're nervous,"...... she cooed. "But don't worry about it. I promise, you'll really enjoy what I can do for you."  
**

**"How many times do I have to say it?"....... Naruto growled. "I do not want to do this. I want to stay loyal to....me very dear person.........!** **Please do not ask me .....!"...... Naruto shouted.**

**Then he calmed down, realizing that just maybe he had found a way to escape this problem without having to hurt anybody. Except Jiraiya the perverted hermit was still getting a huge beat down as soon as he was able to get away from this place.**

**"I just go there to visit her!" ......he began, trying desperately to figure out how to talk about this without blowing any secrets. "There's a good friend who I know from places close to this.... . I... well, ......."**

**"Was she your girlfriend?"...... the prostitute asked kindly.**

**"I... I wish ......." ....Naruto sighed. "But no. She is younger than me ...."**

**The girl's eyes widened. "So... you want to have a first experience together ....? "**

**"Because she's ......!"....... Naruto exclaimed. "Don't you understand that? She's... she's...."......for reasons he didn't know, Naruto felt a small teardrop go down the corner of his cheek and sniffed. "I couldn't do that. I can't. I won't."**

**"They've surpassed yourself!" ..... Kurama was laughing in the background of his mind.**

**Closing her eyes, the young woman took a deep, purifying breath. In most males, what that did to her robes would turn heads and possibly cause nosebleeds, but the boy in front of her didn't react at all. A small, bitter smile reached her lips before she said anything else.**

**"Why did that man think you need to come here? Who is he?" .......a young girl asked him with interest.  
**

**"He is my... uh, sensei, I suppose," .....Naruto explained. "He's a big pervert, too. Usually, all that means is he makes me do all the work while he hangs out a places like this, but he really knows his stuff. I can learn a lot from him. And really, I have nothing against perverts  they just have a big weakness, that's all."**

**"A weakness?" ......the prostitute echoed, confused.  
**

**"Yeah,"..... Naruto snorted. Forming a seal, he called, "Henge! Sexy no Jutsu!"**

**The girl's eyes widened as the sweet little boy in front of her transformed into a foxy blond, totally nude..... except for a bunch of clouds covering up certain strategic places on the body. "Oh, my!"**

**"Yeah. That's enough to knock most of them out," ......Naruto went on before changing back. "I call it a perverted ninjitsu, since it's intended for use against perverts. I haven't found much use for it since I became a real genin, though."  
**

**The girl grinned. "Well, maybe I could give you some pointers which will make your 'perverted ninjitsu' more useful to someone of your, ah, experience. But first... take off your shirt and jacket, and lie face-down on the bed."**

**Suddenly, Naruto's eyes got wary again, and he bundled up even further into his jacket, looking almost too modest to be the same ninja who had just changed into a nude woman a second before. "I thought I said no. I want to remain loyal to......."  
**

**"Relax," ......the woman said, waving him off. "I know. I won't make you betray ....., don't worry. I was paid for a full night of service, however, and I cannot refund your teacher his money. I feel as if I must do something for all of the money he has put down for you. But please, take off your shirt and lie down, anyway  a gentle massage won't be a betrayal of your girl back home. And then, well, maybe we can talk about some things. I think maybe I can give you some ideas for your perverted ninjitsu."**

**As Naruto was experiencing his second massage this evening for after trying out some of the things he did while perfecting his new perverted ninjitsu he discovered all of the lady's work was undone  he found himself considering whether this training trip had really been worth it. Might he have been better off, staying at or near the village to train? He would have been close to his friends, also, he wouldn't have had to hide the fact he was from Konoha, and would have been able to practice better, stronger, faster techniques instead of a few neat ones when no one was looking and a bunch of useless ones the rest of the time. And he wouldn't be stuck in a brothel all night.**

**Although he had to admit it wasn't that bad. The girl was right she was able to ply her trade with massages and a comforting ear and wicked tongue, as he discovered while they conjured perverted ninjitsu ideas without making him feel like he was betraying, or asking for more activity then he was comfortable with. He realized, he might have actually let the woman take his virginity after all. She made him that comfortable.**

**"Relax, kid," .....the prostitute said, unknowingly echoing what the Kyuubi was telling him. "I was teasing. I won't question your devotion again." .......Naruto tried to follow their advice, releasing the tension he felt.**

**Naruto felt oil being applied to his back. It started off cool, but then got very hot like it was on fire. Normally, such a sensation might be painful. Now, however, it was quite soothing. He drifted to sleep under the skilled hands of the prostitute turned masseuse, for once at peace with himself and the world.**

**Jiraiya was in the waiting room of the brothel he and the boy had hired for the night, waiting for his charge to come in. He had a lazy smile on his face, knowing he had done good  that boy had needed a stress reliever, and what better way then this? Maybe now he'd lay off all those ero-sennin cracks, what with him knowing just how delightful the pleasures of the flesh could be. And maybe, if he enjoyed it enough, he could convince the lad to help him peep in on women's bath houses from time to time.**

**Naruto entered the room on the arm of the lady he had been with the night before as they whispered softly to each other.**

**He heard a quiet, "Go to the lady over there, and tell her I said for you to have the number three special package for departing customers and make sure you include the last bit, or else you'll get something you don't want. I want to talk with your companion here in private for a bit."**

**Naruto nodded, running off to see the madam in charge of the brothel.**

**"A number three special, eh? The boy must have really been something. Maybe he could give me some tips. ".......Jiraiya thought.**

**"You," ......the woman said, pulling him aside rather roughly, too. "You are in disguise, I know  it's easy enough to see who you are in the daylight. If you want to remain hidden, I suggest you never go near another brothel. We've all heard about you, and all know who you are....... Jiraiya-sama."**

**He puffed up. "I guess my reputation is pretty good."  
**

**"You're one of the most important clients the brothel industry has," .....she answered wryly. "But I want to speak with you about that boy. If anything and I mean anything  ever happens to him under your care, I don't care how important you are to my trade  you will never find another whore willing to even look at you again, no matter how much money you may be willing to pay. That boy... that boy is special."  
**

**The perverted hermit could only think of one reason why this woman was so defensive of him. "He was that good, huh?"**

**"He never touched me,"..... the lady said. "And I did nothing to dishonor him. He is loyal, you creep, to another girl so loyal, he has left on a wild goose chase to recover the boy she loves, thinking he'll never have her. He swore an oath to keep that girl happy, and he doesn't care what it means to him he will be loyal to her. Don't torture him by subjecting him to a place like this, again."  
**

**Jiraiya was understandably confused as he lead Naruto away  just what would make a common whore so adamant about keeping a boy she didn't even know safe? What had happened the previous night, anyway?**

**The madam walked over to the girl as she watched them go. "What was that all about? You really let the boy have a number three?"  
**

**"Yeah!"...... the prostitute confirmed, still watching the road where the two ninjas were walking.  
**

**"You do know that'll come out of your cut for his services, right?" ...... madam warned.  
**

**"Yeah!." .......  
**

**"So, why did you give it to him? He's a fourteen year old boy he couldn't have been that good." ........ she insisted to know the truth.  
**

**"No!"...... the girl admitted, returning to her room :"But he will be, some day."**

**Meanwhile Jiraiya wanted to try Naruto to summon toads of Mount Myōboku had gone by without any problems. Jiraiya was was surprised when he was told that Naruto has a contract with the fox spirit which got over Kurama.**

**But here is it waiting for another surprise. As they entered deeper into the village they were greeted by fog.**

**Naruto had a smile on his face: "Jiraiya, I want you to meet with Zabuza and Haku.".....before the two of them appear just invited guests.**

**Zabuza handled with Naruto and Haku embraced him:"We are pleased to meet again! "**

**"Well, it's time for lessons!" .... Jiraiya and Zabuza will with one voice, while Naruto looked confused.**

**In the time that they spent together Naruto Haku secretly gave instructions for Uzushiogakure: "The two of you can be there for sure! You will have a lot of work, and will join you and others. "**

**In next fifteen days Naruto has mastered the Water Release techniques but something unexpected happened.**


	68. BACK TO KONOHA

**Jiraiya was in a very good mood while their road led to Konoha. But Naruto was in very, very bad mood. Meanwhile in Konoha in an apartment Sasuke was in a very bad mood too.**

**"Hehe, Naruto lighten up. The world is not collapsed!" .... Jiraiya laughed out loud.**

**"Ero sennin, pervert!" .... Naruto hissed at him.**

**"I am not blame for this!" ..... Jiraiya defended himself: "Well, you look on the bright side! .... hahaha .... I will not survive this ... hahaha .... you open now rather large possibilities! "..... Jiraiya writhing with laughter.**

**"Damn Jiraiya, stop laughing. This is a serious matter .... I ... for God's sake!" .... Naruto was deadly mad.**

**Two of them were close to Konoha, "Um, ero sennin ,by!" ..... Naruto enters in the Kurama mode and disappears while behind him echoed loud laughter.**

**Is Kurama mode he went out and stood leaning against the door of the apartment. While he pondered what to do, he heard voices behind closed doors. Forgetting for a moment on his problem put his ear to the door and he was eavesdropping.**

**"Damn Itachi, stop laughing. This is a serious death situation!" ..... he heard a familiar voice but somehow sounded strange.:" I can not anywhere like this and to hell how I like this to go out in front of Sakura?" ..... he heard the angry voice while apartment echoing laughter of Itachi.**

**Naruto took a deep breath, opened the door and entered the apartment.**

**"I am at home!" ..... he once again take a deep breath and stepped into the room where he heard voices.**

**"Welcome home ..... damn, I forgot that today you come home!" .... he heard a scream but at that moment Naruto was already in front of them.**

**"Wow ....." ..... Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.**

**"Damn,....... oh, ....oh my God!" ..... Sasuke had the same reaction as Naruto.**

**"Oh my God, ........I'm ......in heaven!" ..... Itachi had the same reaction as the two of them.**

**All three at the same time closed their eyes and for a moment they think, "Genjutsu!" .... and they made a sign and said, "Kai!"**

  **But when they opened the eyes the two of them were still in the female, feminine issue.**

**Jiraiya was all cheerful and he with a smile came to the office of Hokage where was Tsunade and Hiruzen: "I think we have a major crisis, greater danger than the  Madara!" ..... he said with serious voice:""I think that Konoha must declare to the first level of risk!"**

**Tsunade and Hiruzen at him looked pale face: "What happened? Something happened to Naruto?" ....... unanimously asked.**

**"Something happened.....hahahah!".......Jiraiya loses control and starts to squirm with laughter:" Damn, Naruto you're going to kill me! "......he spoke with a laugh.**

**"Jiraiya stop laughing and tell already what happened?" ...... Tsunade was losing patience.**

**"Tsunade, I can not say, because Naruto will really kill me, but I am quite serious Konoha is in danger and that the first degree.".....**

**Jiraiya is slowly entering to himself, "Naruto..... Naruto.... is beautiful, divine person........and if word gets out Konoha .....we will have war.!"**

**"Jiraiya be serious!" ..... Hiruzen is mixed into conversation.**

**"I'm dead serious! Naruto is currently in woman's form ..... he is a beautiful young girl ...... deadly attractive!".......Jiraiya becomes serious: "Tsunade, Hiruzen ...... situation is serious!"**

**"Goddamn to hell, the first Sasuke, and now he!" .... Tsunade slammed her fist on the table.**

**"Sasuke?" ..... Jiraiya said in surprise.**

**"Sasuke is the same in the female form. Itachi and Sasuke are working on a secret jutsu of the Uchiha clan but something went wrong and ..... for God's sake, he became a woman." .... Tsunade took a deep breath and added: " Incredibly beautiful young girl! "I think I see Naruto!"**

**"Haha and Sasuke ..." ... Jiraiya again began to laugh: "Two deadly fighters in the female form, .......for God's sake...... they are now unstoppable!...Do you guys understand the situation at all?......"**

**The three of them quietly without panic devices walk to their apartments.**

**"Sasuke, he's beautiful!" ..... Itachi he caught his breath.  
**

**"Damn Naruto ....." ...... Sasuke approached him and his hand with his fingers lightly passed over his face. "You really are .....!"  
**

**Naruto with the same movements as he was, he said, "I really .....!"**

**At that moment they come through the balcony Tsunade, Hiruzen and Jiraiya.**

**"Oh, my God ....." .....Tsunade and Hiruzen were left speechless as Jiraiya."The first level .....Jiraiya....."......Tsunade said.**

**"Do not worry, my organization Firefox is already standing by!" ..... Itachi just said with a smile."And I think them no one will be allowed to approach! The two of them are under my care!"........ Mangekyo Sharingan appears for a moment.**

**"Uh, that's what I fear!" ..... Hiruzen said solemnly.**

**"You stay, because I'm going to prepare something to eat, I'm going to just take a shower!" ..... Naruto red-faced escape before their eyes.**

**Naruto decided that he did not think about situation in which he found himself, but when he had finished showering found himself in a dilemma what to wear, because all the shirts were too narrow: "For God's sake, how to deal with them." .... .he ran a hand over two tits:"Guys I have nothing to wear.".....he cried loudly.**

**"Naruto, put this on! Itachi bought a few things. "..... Sasuke opened the door and handed him a kimono and then he froze looking at the naked body of Naruto.**

**Naruto the same freeze in place when he saw eyes from Sasuke and suddenly he felt a rush of redness in the face and on the ears.**

**"Sasuke ....." ..... he whispered.  
**

**"Naruto ......" ..... he sighed, closing the door and escape the toward the room but stopped, because he remembered that others in the room.**

**His face and ears were red as the sharingan activated by itself: "He is .....!" ..... at the thought he shook his head: "Sasuke, do not think!"**

**When he came to himself he entered the room with a mischievous smile: "Your wish will become reality!" ..... he makes grin toward Itachi.**

**Naruto was wearing a light blue kimono that fit with his shining eyes. Design kimono was with a red rose. Mai, fox spirit added to his appearance seductive tone. Blue thick hair in clumps fell to his waist.**

**"Time to eat!" ..... he came into the room holding a kimono little widespread that he can walk.**  

**"Someone mentioned food!" .... Kakashi appears on the railing of the balcony: "Wow, but here it is celebrated?"**

**Present have not looked in his direction, because their eyes were watching an irresistible picture.**

**Slender leg shapely appeared under the kimono.  
**

**"Oh, nice!" .... Itachi slowly look along the legs up to meet the brilliant blue eyes: "I am lost!" ..... Itachi groaned.  
**

**"Damn, Minato .....!" ...... Jiraiya said with a slight sigh.  
**

**"Kakashi, welcome!" ..... Hiruzen looked at him wiping his nose that is slightly dropped blood.  
**

**Kakashi nodded and looked in the direction in which all watched. From the shock he lost his balance and he slid with the bars of the balcony.  
**

**Attendees listened and when they heard his cry: "He's a survivor!" .... they consulted that without taking their eyes off the image in front of them.**

**Naruto gets an idea and mischievous smile appears on his face while the other thought: "Kakashi be careful!"**

**Sasuke on his smile feel mild jealousy without knowing why.**

**Itachi watched him over the eye and it falls ideas on his mind, so he calls Sasuke aside: "Sasuke, you have another kimono! Naruto, Sasuke needs your help! "....he both of them pushing into the room.**

**In the room when the two of them were alone Naruto Sasuke gently asked: "What's the problem?"**

**"I do not know what the problem is but I'm a little jealous!" ..... Sasuke recognized his problem.**

**"You like me! I like you, too!" ..... Naruto smiled: "But this is an illusion! Let's enjoy in this situation!" ...... Naruto embraced Sasuke .**

**"Wow, a red kimono ..... Itachi .... what the hell is he thinking?" ..... Naruto remembered the young prostitutes and her advice.  
**

**While he helped Sasuke he gave him some suggestions on what it is he just looked pale, "You do not ask me anything, ero sennin ...... had a perverse idea!"**

**Kakashi is already sitting at the table when they entered two of them in the kitchen with a smile. Sasuke and Naruto together was irresistible. Anbu team and a team from the Firefox had a common reaction ..... silent groan which was heard in the kitchen .**

**"Set the barrier! No one must enter! " .... one of them said, on what the two of them giggles.**

**"Fortunately!" .... think Itachi. "If he were a woman I would not have the heart to do what I did to him."**

**"Kakashi sensei!"...... Naruto slightly bowed. "Welcome!"......he throw a broad smile and gently with his tongue moistened his lips watching him playfully beneath the lash.**

**Jiraiya is quietly took out a book and began to write with a smile: "Minato, he is a diamond mine!"**

**Kakashi smiled, bowed slightly accepting his game. "Do not underestimate me Naruto!" ..... he thought to himself.**

**Naruto and Sasuke began to prepare meals for guests completely forgetting them. Their movements were consistent and feminine. Now and then they giggled as they watched by others.**

**On several occasions, Kakashi caught of Naruto look at yourself who has been a bit wistful. Sasuke noted that the mood at Naruto slowly changing.**

 

 


	69. KAKASHI AND FEMALE NARUTO

** **

**Dinner was soon over and served. By the way Naruto took food and the team that kept them. At the table all enjoyed the meal while Itachi and Jiraiya recounted how they occurred unforeseen circumstances that led to changes in sex with two of them. It was a nice atmosphere and really they all felt that they were at home.**

**At one point, Naruto stopped and he was deep in thought, he did not even hear when they called him.**

**"Home!" ..... present they stopped when they heard his soft whisper:"Choice ...."......Naruto was not aware that the words he spoke in a whisper.**

**"Naruto!" ..... Sasuke gently passed his finger across his face: "Wake up!"**

**"Um, I'm sorry, I wandered for a moment ...." .... he smiled brightly and he looked for a moment at Kakashi who watched him carefully, as he mildly blushed and looked down.**

**Not only by Kakashi closely watched than everyone else as if they felt that he was still hiding something from them.**

**"Naruto do you have any desire?" ..... Itachi asked.**

**"Of course I do .... I want ..." .... he stops "What I want personally can not be fulfilled! Not in this time.....but there is always another time!"......Itachi watched him for a long time while he thought to himself: "Naruto what are you hiding? "**

**"Maybe ...." .... Naruto again falling into thought. "It's time ...I think I need some fresh air ... I'm sorry!" ... he went to Kurama mode and disappears forgetting that he was dressed in a kimono.**

**"Kakashi go for him .... you know where to find him ..." .... Sasuke looked at Kakashi.**

**Naruto landed on carved head of his father in the rock on the mountain above Konoha. Blond hair was swirling around him from the chakras and the kimono is more revealing than what is hiding.**

**"Beautiful!" .... heard a voice behind him.**

**"Kakashi ..." .... he whispered and closed his eyes.**

**"Naruto ... what happened between us?" ..... Kakashi approached him that he felt his heart beating.**

**"Um, I do not know, maybe it's all an illusion or a dream ...... a lot of things happened in a very short period of time .... I do not know .... I honestly do not know. You see ... in my right time you are always there for me ..... now and then I feel you .... I could always count on you but never was time for me to find out what really I think of you.**

**"I might have along the way I had a feel-you, not only as a friend, my sensei .....but deeper feelings .... maybe I'm confused feelings, because no one was there for me to learn the difference love of parents, love of friends, there are various definition of love ...... but when I am with you all the different, I feel safe and secure when you're not with me, my thoughts are with you .... I'm a mess! "..... Naruto exits from Kurama mode.**

**"Um, I do not know how to call you now .... but let's say that I have such feelings from when you came .... maybe I'm a mess as you are." ..... Kakashi lowered his hands on her shoulders and pulled her to him: " This is not an illusion!" ..... he turned her toward him and dropped a kiss on lips "This can not be an illusion!"**

**She moaned softly when she felt his warm lips on her, she could feel the warmth of his body, she could hear his heartbeat, which were strong and fast.**

**"Kakashi!" ..... he heard a faint whisper as if she uttered the magic word, his world has become an illusion,**

**The eyes that stared at him were filled with stars, her eyes took on the appearance of a starry sky and in the middle was he. This view he has already seen, and he fled into the night but this her look now discovered him everything.**

**He knew that he had lost, he knew that he had become a prisoner chained to her or him .... did not matter, because they were both the same person.**

**"Goodbye my mind, this is just my moment, I'm selfish, I'm a thief, but she already belongs to me!"......Kakashi lost his conscious mind.**

**The kiss became deeper, more demanding but she gave him everything. She was like he, she was selfish, she became a thief, a crook but he now belonged to her.**

**Masks have fallen, hinges were broken remained only the bare emotions, lust and passion. She felt him, she felt his hot hands, fingers on her hair, on her neck, on her breasts all over the body.**

**Gentle kisses, wet, hot on her skin are created eddies of passion that carried her mind to the stars. Sobs, moans, groans shallow, deep echoed through the silent night.**

**He felt her, her passion, lust in him opened the gates of paradise. Her kisses were warm, moist, requiring all from him, she was looking for protection, safety, trust, and he was there to meet it all.**

**Fire flames devoured them and carried deeper into the lust and passion. Hell opened up and the fire was swallowed their bodies with sobs, groaning, laughing and joking, the two of them belonged together but cry of Phoenix echoed through the night.**

**Song of the Phoenix returned to her mind, she knew that it is not time for a full surrender, because the promise she was not supposed to break.**

**"Kakashi!" .... she grabbed his arm to stop him: "It's time ... just a little ... wait for me ... I'll do anything for us to be together ... I'm sorry .. ..just a little .... "..... she disappears before him.**

**"Huh, what are you going to do, what are you hiding, my only love ..... this is not an illusion, this is the reality, I still feel her, her warmth, playfulness, lust, passion and her love. I'll wait, I I will be patient, "...... Kakashi dismissed the mask from the face:" No more hiding! ".....he had a smile on his face.**

**Itachi and Sasuke are still sitting at the table and waiting for him when they heard his voice. "I'm home!"**

**"Uh, you're back ....." ...... he was surprised when he saw that Sasuke was no longer in the form of women.**

**Sasuke watched his face that hid a note of melancholy.**

**Itachi got up to go when him stops Naruto:" Take care of him! "... he whispered in his ear on which he looked surprised. "Naruto!"**

**"Do not ask me anything! Everything will be okay in the end. I am glad to meet you! " ..... he said.**


	70. NARUTO AND FEMALE SASUKE

** **

**Naruto knew he had only two more days until their return at the right time. The night when he had a meeting with Kakashi he tried to say goodbye to Sasuke but he could not, because one part of him was related to him.**

**He wanted to use the feminine side but could not. While Sasuke slept he left a note on the table. With heavy sigh he left the apartment and he was no longer in the female form.**

**Sasuke is that night had a strange dream. In his sleep he fought with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki which it at one point asked to help her. She offers him the fruit of the Tree of God and tells him that if he wants to fulfill his desire to eat some fruit. In the dream Sasuke ate fruit.**

**Naruto went to Uzushiogakure to make final preparations and to activate the seal. There were waiting for him Jinchuriki.**

**"If you want a normal life you can have it. This is your country. If it is all right will join you and others but I can not stay with you. My promise is to be fulfilled by the end." ..... Naruto them looked bright eyes.**

**"Naruto, where are you going?" ..... Gaara asked him quickly.**

**"Close to you but not with you. I will be an observer and guardian!" ..... Naruto smiled:"The time was too stopped at one particular point. Madara used the Rinnegan and disrupted the flow of time. His actions caused the reaction to the point where me and Sasuke came for the first time in the the past. I have only been created, actually, I came back in the past the day when mom and dad made me.**

**Sasuke was supposed to be born.The two of us from that point on we were able to influence events. Sasuke and I stayed until the time when Sasuke was born but even then we changed the past. Hiruzen Sarutobi played the second part. The problem was Kurama. I have it somehow had to eliminate from the past. When it was time to get out of the time mixed up, the Madara.**

**My father could not win against the Madara, but he made seal that activate our second coming at a time when I had control over Kurama and Sasuke rinnegan and that we were able to remove the Madara. Kurama was no longer a problem.**

**Hiruzen was near us when activated vortex. He went deeper into the past while me and Sasuke returned before our meeting with Hagoromo. In our third arrival something went wrong and we went back into the past than we should.**

**Here we have changed a lot more than before. Our arrival caused Hiruzen coming from the past.".......Naruto is here for a moment stopped and smiled mischievously: "Hiruzen Sarutobi!"**

**"Hiruzen Sarutobi! What ...." ..... they looked at him puzzled.**

**"The question is how Hiruzen changed the past?" ..... Naruto laughed"He is a wise old man! He's from us could find out some facts but also he was able to influence to correct its past mistakes." ..... Narutto answers.**

**"In a word right time to start on its course by the time we get here at the right time!" ......Naruto was a little worried.**

**"The whole ninja world is asleep, you are not living in the future, but you'll be alive when time starts to run its course and you will no longer be Jinchuriki and all this you will forget but I will leave the memory of a boy with blue eyes and blond hair ... when you meet him, I want, you to be friends with him."**

**"Naruto!"......he hears the voice of Sasuke and him tears slid down his cheek.**

**"Sasuke .... Nice to meet you ..... but ..." .... he sobbed:"The two of us we have to say goodbye .... our common journey stops here but also our journey is just beginning!"**

**"What are you doing?" ..... Sasuke was pale:"Naruto, do not play with me, explain what's going on." ...... Sasuke was angry.**

**"Do you still remember the words of my grandfather? .... Seal which he wears is a unique. The technique seals will be canceled and will not exist even in the records. Cakra is reduced to a minimum ....thanks to Kaguya!"......he explained." We still will not be born! Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokou, Saiken, Chome, Gyuki and Kurama will no longer exist in this time and space. They go into a parallel world with me."**

**"Huh, with you......... how .... now you're saying ... ".......they were all confused.**

**"Put it this way!" .... he does seal Kage Clone Technique and next to them appears another Naruto.**

**"Well, what's the difference ........ ".......Sasuke abruptly stopped: "Impossible!"**

**"It's not impossible, my grandfather showed me some things ......jap, ...." .... they were all confused.**

**Clone of Naruto continues to explain: "The two of us are exactly alike. This technique is now complete and I was able to perform with the help of Kurama. My second me go in a parallel world, while I stay." ..... Naruto is made a grin on his face:"But this can be done only once. Kurama is still in him, but not in me."**

**Sasuke is hard thinking and on his mind came a dream and he said:" You're not going alone! ".......he made the seal as well as Naruto, Kage Clone Technique but to his surprise in front of them appears Sasuke in the female edition.**

**"Um ... oh..ah ..." .... Naruto could not take his eyes off her, and he gasped: "I'm.....I'm ... I do not mind!"**

**"Damn Kaguya .....!" ..... Sasuke in both release blushed to the roots of the hair.**

**"Kaguya......!".......Naruto looked at him quizzically.**

**Sasuke told him about the dream without looking at him.**

**Naruto walked over and hugged both of them: "Thank you! We will not be alone!" ..... while he thanked Kaguya in itself.**

**Sasuke female is thinking: "This is my gratitude to him for all he has done for me, but in the end I like him! He is better solution than Sakura!"**

**Naruto smiled as is noticed Rinnegan in her eyes: "Now everything is all right!"**  
   


	71. STAR RECORDING A NEW BEGINNING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was fun to write all this but I led to the end on my satisfaction.

**"Now everything is ok!" ..... Naruto said: "The two of us can remain for some time, because time will not affect us! Let's see what we have done!"**

**Naruto rapid hand movements make the final seal that only he knew and pointed it at the waterfall reciting a mantra. In the waterfall show the seal and he yelled: "Break!"**

**There was no earthquake, but they heard the shrill sounds that echoed the vastness of their world, and then there was silence.**

**He then turned to Gaara, Killer Bee, Yagura, Fu, Yugito Nii, Roshi, Han and Utakata: "This is not a farewell, we will meet again! I hope you have a much better life and many friends. The door of the Uzushiogakure always open for you and there will dwell Naruto !! "...... he watched them bright-eyed with a whisper:" See you! ".....until they disappeared in front of them.**

**"Naruto where our doubles!" .... Sasuke spun around.  
**

**"They went to a safe place!" ..... Naruto smiled: "Are we going to Konoha, my lady Sasu chan!".....h** **e stretched out his hand to her and she takes it: "Just so you know, my word is law!"**

**Naruto hissed. "Ok, I do not mind as long as you're with me!"**

**"Uh, Naruto what are you going to do with Kakashi?" ..... she asked:" Where is Kurama and the team?"  
**

**"Do not worry, he will wait for some time!" ..... he smiled while she looked puzzled.  
**

**"I am here, and the others are waiting in Uzushiogakure!".....report Kurama.**

**"Naruto .....! .... Sasu chan wanted to once again ask him a question but he stopped, he drew her in into his arms and dropped a kiss on her mouth:" Everything's fine, do not worry. I always keep my word! "......he whispered in her ear.**

**"Hm, not bad! You're fast." ..... she smiled:"You do not ever leave me!"..... she caught him tightly by the hand.**

**"I promise!"........theirs contract certificates by the passionate kiss.**

**Two of them came to the gate of Konoha but did not enter. At the gate was waiting Hiruzen but looked younger.**

**"My children, welcome to Konoha!" .... Hiruzen them came up beaming "Wow, Sasuke what happened?" .... he flies a view over the feminine figure.**

**"I am lost! Never trust a woman in need!"......she hissed but with a smile: "Oh, but It's ok!"....... she said with a whimper.**

**Hiruzen them embraced and introduced in Konoha. Sasu chan when she crossed the gate remains taken aback.**

**In front of her stood the parents live. Her gaze stopped on the mother's womb.  
**

**Naruto squeezed her hand: "I keep my word!"**

**"Hahaha, I know that you love him. I'm glad Sasu chan!" .... Itachi appears behind parents, came over and hugged them. "Nicely done!"**

**"I leave her in your care but ...." ..... he wanted to activate sharingan but nothing happens. "What happens?"........ he asked, puzzled.**

**"Itachi!" .... he jerked on call, quickly turned and whispered, "Shisui"**

**"Naruto, damn it!" ..... towards him went Kakashi but in the younger issue.**

**He throws shuriken's towards him but them he all avoid.**

**Sasu chan was looking at them from the mother's embrace, "Oh ....!" ..... she laughed loudly.**

**"Wait a young man! Wait a minute.....!" ..... Kakashi stops a familiar voice.**

**He turned and yelled, "Dad! You're alive!"**

**"Kakashiii!" ..... he heard other precious voices .  
**

**Obito and Rin ran towards him.**

**"Naruto ... for God's sake!" .... he ran towards Naruto and embraced: "Thank you!"**

**"Kakashi, I keep my promise!" .... he whispered in his ear: "Take care of my sisters!"**

**"I will, I promise! ...." .... he suddenly stopped, "Sisters ???" .... looked at him wide-eyed.**

**"Sisters!" ...... Itachi had heard their conversation, "Do not tell me ....! Ha, Kakashi I think this is the beginning of a true friendship is not it? ".....eyes of Itachi are lit up.**

**"Um, Itachi I think you'll have your hands full ....." ...... Naruto hit him on the back: "Well, we changed...... a little bit more of this ....." ..... .Naruto make grin.**

**"Naruto!".......he heard a gentle female voice.**

**Naruto's back was turned. He did not turn toward the voice. His head was raised to the sky with his eyes closed.**

**He hoped but he could not believe ..... he knew, but he did not expect ..... he had expected and he hoped ..... and he knew that his wishes fulfilled: "Mom "..... streamed down his face tears.**

**Two warm hands, a long-awaited him gently from behind hug him around the neck."Welcome home, my son!"......he felt heat on his back and he was crying.**

**The enormous burden of his back was down and he laughed. "I'm at home mom, dad!"......he caught two warm hands, he turned and raised a young girl in the air and he is with her spins.  
**

**Kakashi, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiashi, Itachi and his parents looked at them with tears: "Well done Naruto!"**

**Beside them, a couple of people as Inoichi and Shikaku they had memory.**

**"Naruto!" ..... another voice rang out.**

**He lowered a young girl holding her firmly by the hand and looked toward the voice. He met with sky-blue eyes that had a glow and pride.  
Ninja does not show emotions but two of them they could not keep. **

**Naruto in two steps walked over to his father, who caught him in his arms and he tightened firmly: "I believe in you! Thank you!"**

**The red-haired girl came over and she slid between them: "I love you both!" ... she whispered softly.**

**"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet with my girl!" .... h** **e nodded toward Sasu chan.**

**"Huh, girl!" .... the two of them exclaimed: "Sasuke .... how ... why ... what happened?".....two of them were confused.**

**"Well, long story ...." .... Naruto smiled but "I love her!"....when she came to him he pulled her to him:"Higher intervention!"........ he just said.**

**"Idiot!" .... she struck him on the shoulder.**

**"Mom, Dad, this is for you!" ..... he handed them an invitation to Uzushiogakure as well as others. "I hope I see you there soon, I have a few jobs to finish. Sasu chan if you want, you can stay with your family, so come along with them. Do not worry is not yet time! ".... he smiled to her mother  and then he remembered."Kurama I need some help! "......in an instant they include chakra of Kurama and transported them to Uzushiogakure that he'd hung them on the hill above the village .**

**View of the village were left without a word, it was the most beautiful place in their world.  
**

**"I'm not going to answer your questions, please do not ask me anything. The secret should remain a secret, and it stays with me. I'm sorry!" ..... they were going down to the gate which was wide open where they were greeted by Zabuza and Haku.**

**"Dad!" ..... he turned to his father and they all paused: "You are entrusted to me the task and you believed that I would I meet ..... but now I have a task for you and trust you with all my heart ..... my only wish is that you take responsibility kage of this village. I'm sorry Hokage but this is all I ask of you!"**

**"Naruto, of course .... Minato I'm sorry and I'm on his side. Uzumaki clan once again exist!" .... hair of Kushina was flapping in the wind and her eyes were bright and burned the flame that devoured all before him." But why .... Minato, not you?".....she suddenly looked at Naruto.**

**"I can not stay in this time and space. I have not yet been born!" ..... he looked at her a little wistfully.**

**"I also can not stay, I have not born too." .... Sasu chan fit next to Naruto: "This is the only solution to make it all okay!"**

**"I knew you were hiding something else!" .... they all say out loud the same sentence.**

**"You no longer have the power chakra as before, your life is going to change, no more techniques seals, me and Sasuke will be born in this generation but two of us we can not stay, two of the same person can not be simultaneously in the same place . I have given promise ..... which referred only to me, but Sasuke chose to be with me .... this is our choice .... but I'm happy, because all are alive. The two of us we can stay until the moment when he would be born but no longer."....Naruto watched them decisively.**

**"Naruto how .....?" ..... Minato asked.**

**"Madara with Rinnegan opened the time gate in Valley of the End. Me and Sasuke we accidentally ended up in the past due to the time gate. When we should go back to our time, Madara is my father put under the influence of sharingan but my father managed to cause an explosion that brought us back but with this action is interrupted by the passage of time.**

**The second time I and Sasuke we returned to the same place and at the same time, however, we were in complete form, Madara withdrew. I pulled Kurama from the past with me. This my action has already changed the past.  
**

**Hiruzen ..... was close to us. The vortex pulled us, the two of us, we returned to a time before the annulment of the Infinite Tsukuyomi., Hirruzen is apparently returned to the past.**  
Our memories are overlapped and I completely forgot about it.

**The third time we went back to the past we have finished further back in time probably with the action of Hiruzen that changed one part of of the past.  
He came back from the past when we are too but  barriers were mixed and created an alternate dimension.  **

**But when Inoichi watched our memory he pulled a memory that we have forgotten. Hiruzen and I had that moment remember what happened.**

**Our selected the arrival into the past, barriers are ruptured and the time has been restored to normal. The seal I made on the waterfall alternative dimension has disappeared and came up with a real space and time.**

**In the moment past, present and future are merged into a single point and we get a new time. Probably Hiruzen changed much more than the two of us. Ninja world has probably got a new look and a new time.**

**Valley of the End no longer exists and the time gate is no longer there.".......Naruto's bright eyes looked at Hiruzen: "Good job, old man!" .... he does grin on his face.**

**"Madara?" ..... asked quickly Kakashi.**

**"He's dead, but I do not know what to do with these two .." ..... they looked at him confused.**

**"He took out two scrolls:" Orochimaru and Danzo! "... he just said.**

**"Huh, you did not kill them!" ..... Jiraiya yelled.**

**"Nop, but they go with me. It is better that we do not play, because they do not currently exist.".....he sighed.**

**"Damn Naruto, you are to the end remained unpredictable!" ..... Tsunade said.**

**"Minato, you have free choice!" .... Hiruzen looked Minato "I think you'll have a lot of work, because many will come to the village from all sides. Naruto is right, only you, able to fulfill his desire. "**

**"I promise my son!" ..... Minato hugged him.**

**"Minato sensei I'm coming too!" ..... Kakashi looked at Naruto and make grin.  
**

**"Um, can I come!" ..... Itachi is also asked.  
**

**Naruto laughed: "Dad you'll have a lot of work!"**

**"Auch auch ...." .... Mikoto grabbed her stomach. "I think it's time!"**

**"I left for each letter, we will see you again!" ..... Sasu chan and Naruto disappeared in front of them.**

**"We will see them again, Naruto will keep his promise!" ....... Kushina had a smile: "But where are they going?"**

**"Probably on the honeymoon!" ...... Jiraiya laughed: "Now I have a big job. The inspiration is in the highest!"  
**

**"The inspiration left for leisure, because you have more important things!" ..... Hokage said.**

**Minato and Kushina stood embracing for a long time on the hill above Uzushiogakure. "Naruto, come home soon!"**

 

**"Now it gets interesting, a new era of ninja and Ninshū" ..... Kaguya was pleased: "Only this time I'm going to believe in them!"**


End file.
